you cant be a park primarily targeted to families who cant afford places like disney...and raise prices at a time where the middle class is actively dying out
@@cocopie9971 how are they a boomer? Are you solely Judging by their correct statement that the middle class has been shrinking over the last 50 years in a coordinated effort to create a desperate plentiful multi-job dependent lower class? Boomers were responsible for this, practice reading comprehension
As an EX six flags employee, I will say these parks are very disfunctional. They are poorly maintained and management keeps cutting budget to the point where all you can do is go on rides and that's it. So if a ride breaks down for a few hours, there is no entertainment or shows to go watch while the get the ride up an running again. If you got to universal or Busch Gardens even Disney, they spend millions a year on entertainment. They need to stop building rides, and fix up what they already have. 1. hire landscaper to gut the old and plant new, creatively. 2. hire entertainment maybe even celebrity appearances for addition cost. 3. start park opening and/or park closing shows IE, water, lights lasers, fireworks 4. pay for music licensing for park music, ensure park speakers are working. 4 clean up rides, repaint them, update some visuals, nothing cheesy. if you do all this, people will return.
Floats need repairs and some need new speakers. Uprising has been having issues with floats breaking down less than half way through the show. But in general Entertainment needs some TLC. Employees are also tense and stressed out asf because of how many ppl he’s laid off. I’m afraid this is going to lead to burnt out employees and a hostile working environment. My boyfriend and I have many concerns about six flags. He’s completely convinced it’s already got one foot in the grave.
I grew up with six flags Great adventure in the 90s and early 2010s, and it was always the same place whenever I went back which is not a good thing. The park feels so dated like you have solid plate glass windows acting as walls for your arcade which is in a circus tent roof building. I like keeping some of the history around but some of it just does not look good to the public. They need to stop doing themed rides to superheroes, instead of licensing it from DC, just come up with a new unique theme for each Batman ride and save yourself some money. Put the money back into the park.
I don't really know why they haven't yet. Considering how much nostalgia dominates this day and age, it seems like a no brainer to bring him back to drum up interest in people who remember visiting the parks as a kid.
In it's early days Six Flags was a completely different experience, much closer to Disney. There were actually a lot of musical, comedy, action, etc. shows at Six Flags, so like Disney you could take a break between rides, rest, and cool off. The employee to guest ratio and the park and cleanliness was close to Disney. They would greet you walking around and it felt like a real theme park. But that changed long before even the current downfall, and by the 90's it was pretty much all about the rides. Companies sometimes lose sight of what brought them success trying to make an extra 10%, and then have trouble getting back to it. And as a customer, the idea of them getting by with fewer employees running rides doesn't give me a great feeling about safety being a priority.
In the beginning, the parks were owned by the Wynne family. They wanted parks that took the idea of Disney but were closer and more affordable. I agree, it was a great place to visit back then!! I spent many days there as a teen and young adult. However, when the parks were sold to the group who ran Warner Bros, it all went downhill. It became all about the money, selling the branded merchandise, and the personal "family" atmosphere was washed away by corporate greed
@@NICKI814 it's not that, after the pandemic, the place died off. Social media posting did help them gain more guests. But with the park's history with retarded fights with dumb reasons killed off the fun for everyone else. Those fights made fright fest boring
He fired people I worked with who had been with the company over TWENTY YEARS with little to same-day notice of termination. Absolutely ridiculous and killing the company from the inside out.
Six flags is trying to pull a Disney but they fail to understand one major thing.... DISNEY IS NOT PLAYING THE AMUSEMENT PARK GAME. Disney is selling the Disney experience... no one can compete with that experience... it's its own entire thing.
@@Jushwa not sure if that's sarcasm or delusional, but the numbers speak. The people have entirely different expectations between the 2, and they ARE flocking to Disney for what they offer and do well. Six Flags, can't even do its own thing properly and for some mind boggling reason think they can compete with whats essential a God, while they are just the middling homeless man that everyone sorta minds.
@@Jushwa yes the Disney experience where they put the effort into making sure every little detail matters to said area of the park/ ride that really helps the magic of Disney come to life. The lines r worth the wait id say as you see a lot in said rides, and from there makes you want to wait again to see if you can spot something new the next time you ride. If you don’t wanna wait, just get the fast past. Disney has more entertainment then major rides to waste your time on. Keeps you entertained. The Disney Experience y’all, we’re keeping your guest happy actually is put into play.
this past summer i took my girlfriend to six flags over texas and when i tell you it was one of the worst things that we could've done. there were multiple rides closed, a worker told me it was due to the "lack of staff". what makes me mad is that i paid for tickets to ride ALL the rides not a FEW of the rides.
The lack of staff issue is actually true. Partially the problem that has caused Six Flags to go downhill. For the longest, Six Flags underpaid and overworked their employees. They would hire people from Southern American countries to get around any employee complaints over the crap wage. It’s all now catching up to them. In a way they brought this on themselves.
We stopped going to Six Flags Atlanta years ago. It was totally unsafe for families. The park was overrun with unruly teens. They were cutting lines, yelling profanities, starting fights, etc. No security in the park itself. All of the security staff were just milling around the entrance area. The rides were primarily operated by teens who were more interested in their cell phones than in actually checking that the guests were safely strapped in. We got off three rides before they started due to the staff not checking that everyone was secured in the seats. I complained to a person that looked like some sort of a supervisor and was told to leave if I didn't like what was happening. We did, and never looked back.
the problem with lost customers is that once they are lost.. it is VERY difficult to get them back, especially when you don't actually change anything for a couple years
I find it an interesting study that numerous high profile individuals demonstrate less common sense in their leadership roles than do random people on TH-cam. And that's not sarcasm. I've seen a TH-cam commenter post film ideas that were better than the movie a major studio released in an established franchise. I've seen people online demonstrate more intelligence than highly paid political commentators. Six Flags leadership team could have literally sat in a conference room and watched content creators and gleaned their good ideas and the results would have been more productive than hiring a new CEO and going with conventional corporate methods. And it would have been free advice.
@@matthewmosier8439 Thing is, SIX maxed out at $70 in 2018 ($65 for most of the year) and then backslid for the first year since 2010, with the 2019 share price at $55. Pandemic then dumped the price to $20 in 2020, with a climb back to $45 in 2021. Now to the Board, that 2018-2019 backslide was probably worrying because it meant they couldn't continue to do what they did from 2010-2018. They had that seed of doubt planted before the pandemic. After the pandemic crash and the return to $45, that seed would have grown and they'd be asking themselves "what if the stick never gets back to $70 because we're not doing enough?" That kind of doubting moment, where people are looking for direction, is when people are vulnerable. In comes this guy with The Direction; he says with full confidence that if they implement his changes, they'll not only undo the pandemic losses but reverse the slide and get back to or above $70/share. His confidence will offset that doubt and they'll go with him. That's the thing - if a company is doing well, they have no incentive to change. If they're not doing well, they just need the right person in the right place at the right time to push them another way. Marvel, for example, has been printing money for a while so it was unlikely that they were to go a change-up. First change-up they did was after Thor 2 flopped; they did a tonal 180 and Thor 3 and Thor 4 became comedies. Second change-up was after Endgame because the actors were aging up and aging out. X-men had already tried just rebooting their own series and that wasn't successful, so just doing Avengers 2.0 wasn't the way forward. So they introduced the canonical miniseries, which took the place of some movies and gave their creative talent more to do since they weren't constrained to a 2-hour movie format. In related but non-Marvel media we can even see a change-up fail if we know where to look: the Josh Trank Fantastic Four movie. Fantastic Four was a dead property at Fox, so the decided to change-up with an indie sci-fi director to do an adaptation of the Ultimates storyline (from when the comics basically did a reboot of the old origin story). This went poorly, the studio tried to step in to save it after focus groups panned it, that made it worse, and the movie flopped. Fantastic Four went dead again until Fox was sold to Disney and Disney made their own version for the MCU.
@@ajjdgj6tmgedvnmtmek You make some good points. I appreciate you doing a deeper dive into the subject because it got me interested in digging into what I thought about it, more. I just keep returning to the fact that proximity to money and power is a blinding situation for a person to live in. The mental restrictions of having to live with peer pressure from very powerful people can be destructive to common sense, I think. I agree, in the context you gave, a new CEO's bad idea, if packaged with the proper "energy" would definitely have been tempting to a grouo who had just ridden out the pandemic. That said, I think you are seeing, also, the bad ideas which have been growing under the surface of corporations for years, finally coming out in more recent days. Basically, a lot of corporate minds were steeped in Commie propoganda all through their university days. This is especially true of CEOs from old money who come from the demographic which supplies the bulk of hyper-progressivism's radicals. They think ESG scores and China are going to take over the world soon (an idea which I believe they went with way early and which will wind up reseting political things a few decades into the past, very soon) This mindset of an elite wealthy class (maybe the top 30% or so of the American public) tempts CEO's, including at places like Disney, to cater only to that group of people, something which involves raising prices and essentially limiting accessibility for everybody else. Anyway, this has just been my observation of the world at large, during and since, the pandemic. The wealthy think that their time has come to destroy the cruise industry, theme parks, etc. All of the lower cost things that common people utilize to enjoy their lives.
It wasn’t even price in my area. It was the gangs and lack of security. You’d go to the park just to get cut by well a gang of people. We had yearly stabbing and the place was a dump. Middle class families never had the chance. Once you lose customers, it’s extremely hard to get them back.
If Six Flags goes out of business I’d love to see a new company (not Cedar Fair or any other preexisting group) swoop in and buy the liquidated parks and bring them back to life. I feel like we’re long overdue for a new take on theme parks!
The last time I went to six flags it wasn't too bad. They had these incredible murals made of chewing gum stuck onto all the trees that you can look at while you wait for the ride. And the lucky people on the superman ride got to be on it for almost an hour.
It never occured to me as a child the things that would change as we grew up. Nearly everything from my childhood memories has closed and become only nostalgia. You don't think about these things until you're older. Although we don't go back to these places, they are places we love to see the next generation enjoy. It's scary knowing how fast life passes us up. Always be thankful for today, and remember every day is a memory, so make it a great memory to be had.
Places closing actually late is nostalgia. I'm currently in a half hour line for the one drive thru place actually opened past midnight for my drink. 😑
Honestly, all the things I enjoyed when I was younger have been or are currently being ruined by corporate greed and the pursuit of short-term profits at the expense of the consumer. This is no different.
Just went to Six Flags over Georgia this past month and it was a nightmare. I've always gone to my hometown's park Dollywood, and I've been to Carowinds a few times. Carowinds is significantly cleaner, better ran, and the employees didn't seem miserable. SFOG was one of the worst park experiences I've ever had; long waits, rude staff (probably exhausted), bad food, and the bathrooms were disgusting. I felt like I was a RollerCoasterTycoon NPC that had a big frowny face. Also, majority of the coasters at SFOG were closed down. It was clear weather, and about 60 degrees, so I *heavily* doubt it was the weather.
That's so unfortunate. I used to finally the time and it wasn't always great but it was definitely not that awful... I really hope it doesn't close forever
Agreed 6flags in GA sucks. I've been to most of the parks in Florida (Disney, Epcot, universal, island of adventure, busch gardens, etc)and six flags was a complete disaster. You can even compare the parks. The ones in FL are far superior overall.
honestly as a 6 flags mm employee its been pretty hard on us. going from working 6 days a week 8-12 hr shifts. to only being open to 4 days… its been difficult for people trying to pay bills. they expect us to be ok working 2-3 days and expect our 100% for $16.50 an hour. but then expect us to be happy go lucky when we have 0 staffing to work the holiday season. then over work us. the company is losing employees. guests. and money.
New ride op is ot and it's been stressful trying to give guests a good experience but I want to operate multiple rides and have more rides that I can suggest to guests reliablly
Question. Did Six Flags used to close later? I see they close at 5 or 6 pm on some days and the latest they close is at 9 pm which is ridiculous! I want to experience all the rides in one day but so little time!
@@onmas909 yeahh honestly the only time we will be open later than 5 in the near future is holiday seasons/holidays….special events or weekends. the park should only be open friday-monday tho when its off season starting a couple weeks back
...that's what happens when wage minimums get hiked up in the service industries...corporate tells managers to hire a lot of people and have them all come in for just a few hours to where it looks good for PR, but gives no real living wage to the people who counted on a wage increase as a comeup..there is absolutely no company loyalty, the employees tend to do drugs in the bathrooms and breakooms, food is spitefully removed from slop buckets and served to customers they have issue with (like law enforcement during the "defund" bullshit) and it reflects in the attitudes of customers, who think nothing now of obliterating the lobbies of service establishments over a lack of ketchup.... I was at one McDonald's in a very small city that had 50 employees and a whole lot of problems and the hours and wage wouldn't cover my rent on a tiny shit apartment... ...most corporations need to get a 7 minute beatdown against a barbed wire fence, figuratively speaking....
Ride safety is THE most important aspect of these places! It doesn’t matter what the theme or the name of the ride is, if there’s ANY word of a ride being unsafe or maintenance concerns, it’s gonna be ghost town advertised by news stations
ride safety isnt really an issue (assuming they're following proper protocol issued by the ride's manufacturer which i assume they are). you're safer on the rides than you are on your drive to the park, dare i say it may just be one of the safest places to be in the park.
@@MaluuhLive the ride kinda operates itself for the most part… the main problem is in maintenance, which has been hit by the staffing issues. to my knowledge, el toro at great adventure is the only ride that has been impacted by this, but that needed some major care to begin with
the apparent lack of ride safety is why I don't find thrill rides thrilling, but genuinely terrifying. and why I don't go on rides that are made to be moved, like at the fair. no thanks I'll ride the batman themed tild a whirl.
Went to six flags for possibly the last time this year. got tickets free from work for me and the wife. We were shocked to find out that parking had been raised to $40 dollars (I think 60 for preferred parking). Inside the park was pretty much empty. I was able to ride every major coaster before lunch (the ones that were open anyway). This was nice since that's the only reason I come to the park, however there was a strange dystopian vibe from the emptiness of the park that made me want to leave as soon as I was done riding the coasters.
I know the feeling. It's sad watching videographers sneak into closed parks. You can hear the kids laughing and playing, so much excitement. The smells, sights and sounds. I'm old and went to at least a couple cirsus' when I was young. There are no more big tops. 😢
@Tee Grizzle Hopefully you're just trolling as this is the internet, but this implies a falsehood and assumes no responsibility on the end of the business owners. 1.) Covid wasn't invented or "created" by anyone, it is a disease type which has new variants pop up occasionally via evolution. 2.) Despite Covid Six Flags has been having difficulties as of late anyway. Even pre covid the parks we're often dirty, unkept and overall with occasional exceptions, not a great experience.
You can't increase prices if the quality doesn't increase beyond the idea decreasing too much crowd. For some theme park goers, the idea of big crowds also is a psychological boost to show that the park is popular and where they should be.
We have a water park in Phoenix formally called wet n' wild. That is until six flags took over. My family and I had season passes every year. Then comes six flags. It became quite clear that it was all about the money with no regard to the guests. For instance, there used to be a bunch of provided tubes for each ride, then all of the sudden there was almost none. They wanted you to rent their tubes. The last time we went we were there for more than 4 hours and got on 3 slides when we used to get on multiple slides per hour. Needless to say, we quit being season pass owners. The new six flags model is all about the money, and by doing so, they are screwing themselves out of it.
Wet n' wild was never good, though. It was dirty, there were always rides broken or down and it was so hot with little to no shade what so ever. It was one of the most popular and big parks around. Just got from bad to worse really.
Wow it feels weird to see someone mention wet n wild. I literally grew up walking distance from it. It was never great but it did have a nice family friendly vibe. Never too packed and season passes were worth it you could just kill a ton of time starting the day running Kilimanjaro and then chill in the lazy river or some shit. Once six flags took over the first year was awesome for season passes. After that it was absolute garbage, not even worth the money to go anymore because it's packed and they still want to nickel and dime you to death. They tried to be all fancy and new but that's not what made wet n wild fun. I used to go to the mini train park right next door a lot for funsies too.
This may be something exclusive to me but, part of the fun and excitement of going to a huge park like Six Flags or anything like that is seeing so many other people also being excited to have fun with their friends and family too. It's no wonder his strategy failed. A lot of people probably agree or feel similar. I also vaguely remember the teenage girl getting both her feet severed. So, if rides aren't safe, prices are high, and no ones there, what exactly IS the entire point of going? It would feel depressing just being there, even more so when you get on a roller coaster and no ones there to scream and put their hands up with you.
I just recently cancelled my Diamond Platinum Membership (with Dining) after 5 years. This past summer was the nail in the coffin for me - half the coasters closed, rude/awful employees, terrible food, and overall a very unenjoyable experience. I’d rather just spend the extra $$ and go to Universal Orlando or to Cedar Fair parks.
I did the same at Great Adventure. Cancelled two Diamond Elite Plus and 4 Platinum (with Meal and Drink) after 5 years. They took almost every dining option away during the Summer with only basically nasty chicken tenders and dry pizza. Upcharge for fries. I won't go back unless Salim is out and Spanos hired back. Took my hard earned money and put it to 2023 Hershey Park King Size passes.
@Maddox2021 - Comedy and More Alternate Wow. Why are you so angry? I can fix the post. Did someone hurt your feelings today?😆 Your hair isn't blue and you have a nose ring do you???😆😆😆 Don't worry. The store will be getting more Soy Milk in soon.
@Maddox2021 - Comedy and More Alternate and unless you're the Perfect Human, get off your high horse. I don't mind correction or criticism, it's how it's presented. I'll see myself OUT.
I definitely agree that the food is terrible now. Immediately after I ate it I had stomach problems which also could be my problem but it never happened before.
Same. Cancelled Diamond Platinum Membership that we've had for years. They got rid of my favorite event Holiday in the Park at Great America (Gurnee/Chicago area). That was literally the only time of year I spent in the park. I still have an entire year of free "make-up" months to use in 2023 though.
This makes me cry - I worked at 6F Dallas in 1996 and they had all kinds of shows, mascots walking the grounds, pop-up contests and fun stuff everywhere. Those of us stuck in the caricature booths were so jealous - but this? Oh man …
@@backlogbuddies We called it ‘Dallas’ cuz the whole area was a blur to our guests 😁, even tho it’s in Arlington. Fiesta and Astro called us Dallas internally, too.
I wholeheartedly agree with your point about high quality rides not being enough to carry an experience. I visited Great America for the first time this summer and while their coaster lineup is elite; the abhorrent wait times, dirty atmosphere, and rude staff made it one of my least favorite days I've ever had at any park. 2 hours to ride Raging Bull with the flash pass on a Tuesday in June was where I hit my limit.
Yeah, i'm super sorry to hear that. I guess i was lucky when I went, because the flash pass entrance was the exit for the ride, because it was less busy. The default flash pass pretty much acted like a platinum, so I could ride 5 cycles in a row and that was amazing! I don't think the staff were exceptional, but they were alright. In all, I think it depends on when you go. Sorry to hear about that.
My family of 4 have had a membership to Six Flags for over 7 years. In the beginning we would make the 45 min drive to Magic Mountain about once a month. For a couple of years we even had the food passes for me and my wife that gave you lunch and snack, then dinner and snack at around $80 each for the year. This was great because between the 4 of us we could all eat during each visit and it paid for itself in 2 visits because the price of the food was crazy. Then it just got worse, less options for meals and half of the places you could choose from would be closed. Huge lines to order in the places that are open because there are only 2 of the 8 registers open and 65% of the people in line just want a drink refill. The heat in CA is really the killing factor for Magic Mountain. It's built in the desert, so you think they would have plenty of shade for the guests that are waiting 1 to 3 hours in line for a ride.. nope! It's just gotten worse, as they build more rides it feels like less thought goes into how they are going to funnel guest to it. Trees and areas that used to be great places to relax and stay cool have been removed and replaced with concrete. The staff has just gotten bitter it seems over the past few years. They are not taken care of by the company and they pass that distain for their employer directly on to the guest. It's really rare to find anyone working at the park that really cares that the guest are the people that are the reason for their paycheck. We only go about 2 or 3 times a year now, and it's not during the summer. Haven't been to Hurricane Harbor in years. It's extremely overcrowded and dirty. The last time we did go we were there for about 5 hours and were only able to ride 2 of the rides, and the lazy river was practically shoulder to shoulder. It's just not enjoyable anymore. The events that used to be good are now just a money grab. Fright Night used to be fun until they started charging extra for the mazes. The only good thing about it now is being able to ride Tatsu in the dark, if its running, and if it's not a 3 hour wait... Writing all this out has really made me second guess why I still pay for these passes... I honestly would rather drive 2 hours to go to Knotts where they still have shows and an atmosphere that feels welcoming, and way better food...
We went to knotts last fall over six flags. The roses looked scary/unsafe from a distance. Knotts definitely still has that family entertainment atmosphere
Since they've stopped offering new memberships, if you cancel the ones you have, they're gone forever. So there's that. They do still honor the ones they sold in the past, with all the benefits. So if they can survive to the next CEO, or get bought out, maybe things will change for the better. They need an advisory committee made up of guests who are local to each park, that makes suggestions applicable to that park. Ideally, it would be made up of people who, like those of us commenting on this video, have been going to the park for a long time and remember what it was like in the "good old days". At least one member of the board of directors should attend each committee meeting, along with that local park's management, so that they too can learn what each park's truest fans find important. Over Texas seemed to be heading in that direction with "The Pirates of Speelunker Cave" but though it just opened this past year, it was closed when we went to Holiday in the Park so I still haven't gotten to ride it.
Just hilarious to hear the CEO blame gas prices and inclement weather. As of the other theme parks exist in an alternate dimension with teleportation and an absence of weather. When leaders can’t admit they’re wrong, people suffer.
This makes me so sad. I grew up getting season passes to Six Flags Over Texas every summer and always having an amazing time. Since leaving the DFW area over 10 years ago I always talk about wanting to to back since I haven’t been since leaving the area. I had no idea how much conditions had deteriorated. Truly depressing.
I spent $325 with my kids to attend Great Adventures this year. What I saw since I last visited back in 2016 was the park was mostly the same and less value. New rides were boring or not interesting at all. It had become a teenager hangout place and most of the value is pushed towards paying for meal plans instead of building on the park’s experience. We won’t be back again unless a major upgrade to their theme experience.
2 Words: BAD MANAGEMENT!! I live in Houston and Six Flags owned Astroworld which had been here since 1965. The management closed down the park in 2005 and told everyone that the land was more valuable than the use as an amusement park. Really, so they tore it down and now 17 years later there sits the vacant land. Good management would have tried to keep a park open in a metro area like Houston (over 5 million people and growing. Disgusting! And you know what several parks have opened here since they pulled out and these new parks are doing fine crowds and profits....
That's because other than the initial park, Cedar Point, none of them have Cedar in the name. Cedar Park grew by acquiring other amusement parks, including the Paramount parks. They own parks like Knott's Berry Farm, King's Dominion, California's Great America, King's Island, etc.
My wife and I went to SFOT by ourselves last week because our 11 year old didn’t want to go. He said the lines suck and the rides aren’t very good anymore. We experienced a dirty park, rude staff and long lines. We definitely aren’t going back. Ever.
Awww that's so sad how far the OG has fallen. I've only been there once way back in 1997 and it was an amazing experience for me personally (I was 15). Breaks my heart to hear there.
"Rides bring people in and beautification gets them to come back." Definitely true. It's one of the reasons Six Flags Ohio failed. They added 6 new coasters in 2 years, but spent no effort on improving the in park experience. That's why total guests increased the first year or two, but then took a nose dive. All the out of towners came, saw how badly run it was, and did not come back.
Maybe it’s because I grew up at Hershey, but Hershey park is still one of the greatest singular parks I’ve ever seen, I’d love if you ever did a video on how well it preforms, the shows, the rides, the friendly atmosphere, the Halloween and Christmas stuff they have.
@maddox121 As a Kentucky girl who grew up in Louisville, went to KK more times than I could count, and LOVED that park with all my heart, I was SO glad to see Sucks Flags go!! They gutted the quality of the park, and did us really dirty when they left. Good riddance. Thankfully, Kentucky Kingdom is now open again, under new management and thriving!
As someone who used to work there (four years to be exact across two departments at Six Flags New England), the primary issue about Six Flags are the following: 1.) They max out their occupancy as much as possible, creating a gross, sweaty and nasty miserable experience which ruins any "bargan" price they think they have. 2.) They do nothing but cut costs and raise prices, they're always looking for cheaper ingredients, materials, labor and giving the guest less and less for the same or higher price, on top of NEVER upgrading any of the equipment, on top of reducing maintenance leaving the parks dirty and worn down Note: I'm ok with older equipment, but like anything it needs to be maintained which they don't do, so little to no maintenance and never replaced 3.) Employees are treated like shit. Example One: we couldn't clock in while getting make up done for acting or until we were at our kitchen location despite needing to walk across the park which often takes fifteen to thirty minutes depending on how busy it was, and before we left our kitchen or acting station we also had to clock out, meaning a half hour to an hour of your time could be spent at the park while not being paid, though while you were still on the premises you were expected to help guests, even if you're on break and you work the entire time helping a guest it still counts as your break! Example Two: They refused to take care of the Employee Parking lot which was made of dirt and due to poor maintenance, it was not uncommon for employee's cars to get damaged getting in and out due to potholes, rocks, broken glass, etc and no way to report or be compensated for said damage Note: there was a lawsuit against them not too long ago about the stolen time and our compensation was $23.00 when they inevitably lost the suit, I worked there every weekend during fall and all week during the summer for four years, so even when giving them the benefit of the doubt, at the very least they stole (40 days * 2 for walking in and out) = 80 * .25(15 minutes quarter of an hour spent walking through the park before and after clocking in to get in and out) = 20 hours for summer (16 days * 2) = 32 * .25 = 8 hours, so 28 hours a year, four years = 112 112 UNPAID HOURS, not even including when we'd be forced to stay late after clocking out or get threatened of being fired, which (minimum wage was 9.00/hour at that time) results in $1008.00 being stolen from high school me. So yeah, its more cost effective for them to be douchebags unfortunately. Hopefully they changed this by now, but I doubt it. My advice to anyone thinking of working at SFNE, unless they fixed the issues I listed above, don't work there. They'll treat you like shit, rob you of time you should be on break or paid for, work you like a dog, and right you up when they don't call you in but wanted you in and then you have to prove they're wrong and it takes three weeks robbing you of working for the season to save up for college or a laptop.
It's strange that I've seen almost identical issues at my job...but I don't work at a theme park. But the more I hear about similar things from peers from _various_ backgrounds, the more I honestly think this is a corporate and generational issue, not the job itself
@@13Kr4zYAzN13 I think that with regards to amusement parks...... What happened was this - at the inception, apparently, they were targeted for middle class. To put it bluntly white middle class families. Since then that middle class evaporated. It looks like either tickets are way too affordable or there are some discount programs for financially challenged families of which I do not know. I believe I paid in excess or $100 per person to visit Disney World on a week day in August 2018. It was jam-packed and lines were atrocious. With August Florida heat it was something opposite of fun. We left in the middle of the day to re-enter closer to firework time and then dashed for the space mountain. Still spent about 30 minutes in the line. There is something wrong with this business. Too many people. I find $100/day ticket price to be outrageous. So I do not know how much it should cost to keep the crowds low. I certainly would not pay that price. As for 6 Flags. In Chicago I had a very reasonably priced season pass and also would visit on weekday. No crowds. It did look a bit run down, but most of the rides worked and we did not have to wait in line for more than 15 minutes. Frankly I consider 6 Flags to be a much better deal - you get straight to business, the rides and that is. In Disney World there is all this "atmosphere" that you have to "soak in". And I am not sure that kids these days even connect to all this Cinderella & Mickey Mouse thing and much of the old themed stuff.
I worked at SFNE too, I can back this up - don't forget that they make us work 12 hours shifts and only give us 1 day off basically _ever._ Screw this company. Smh.
Ive always loved six flags, its so sad to see this happen. Why can’t rich people just let poor people have things? Six flags is a great amusement park, and there isnt anything wrong with being marketed towards people who can’t afford disneyland, I’ve been a loyal attendee of six flags since I was 6 lol, but I can’t afford to go anymore and I used to try to go a couple times a year. I went to six flags for my 8th grade field trip, for many birthdays and friends birthdays, and many other celebrations. I love roller coasters, so really, if six flags isnt the affordable option with an exhilarating experience anymore, I’ll go somewhere else. It seems like everyone else will too.
Went to Six Flags over Texas as a kid in the early 2000s. Easily my favorite theme park experience to this date. Going to theme and amusement parks nowadays just don’t compare to that golden age of Six Flags
It is nothing like the experience I had growing up. Back then (1995-2005ish) it was a shock to see a ride closed. The food was good to decent, the rides worked, the live shows were operating routinely, and it was literally an overall experience. Took my sons back in 2019 before the Covid crash and the live shows was minimum to none, half of the good rides were closed and the train that goes around the park was not functioning. The only thing that made the experience ok was the kid world, in which my boys enjoyed. It sad to see SFOG go downhill like this. 🤦🏿♂️
Raising the price without improving the product only worked before the internet existed. Now people can see photos, videos, and reviews detailing why the new price isn't worth it and make the choice to stay away *before* spending their money.
I went in October and it was horrible. Half the rides were closed, there were like 2 employees and while i didnt have wait times i missed the park being full and lively. I like low ride waits but not at the cost of making the place feel dead
This is what happens when your view of the business is based upon a spreadsheet and earnings report. You need to understand the wants and desires of your customers and deliver that at a reasonable price…a truly dying concept these days.
Saving Six Flags isn't even hard. It bothers me that they bring in these CEOs who can't figure this out, when someone like me can. It's so simple: stop focusing on only THRILLS and start building out EXPERIENCES. make Six Flags a place where people actually want to come and spend the entire day. More/Better shows, WAY better meet and greets, experiential landscaping, cohesive design, and merchandise that people actually WANT to buy and wear. Rebrand. Let's go.
I just finished my final days working at Six Flags MM, and god do they treat us like trash. I worked in food and beverage. I hated being in those buildings, they were disgusting. The food is all frozen(obviously), but prepping it after it being defrosted is one of the grossest things I’ve ever done. My leads and supervisors are all 19-20 year olds who just like to order everyone around even tho leads make $0.25 more than regular team members. Also they never do anything to make the working conditions safer or cleaner. There were 3 rats living in the break area, nothing ever happened despite constant complains, and I can’t tell you how many times a day I almost slipped and cracked my head open. HR begged me to stay after I handed in my two weeks, they personally called my building, to come down to them to beg me to stay, obviously I told them no. Don’t go to six flags it’s a waste of money. And their employees are treated like trash
I think the biggest issue with Six Flags is that at the end of the day, it's an amusement park heavily geared towards rollercoaster fans and adrenaline junkies. This is a niche product that is in a genre that NEEDS constant attendance. Worse is that it essentially locks away a major demographic these products need, families, children, and people who aren't adrenaline junkies/rollercoaster fans. That means Six Flags locked out a major chunk of revenue and essentially can't charge as much as, say, Universal, Disney, Knotts, etc. So yeah, since the parks decided to remain focused on it's niche, it needed to do a lot more than just have rollercoasters to keep people coming back on a regular basis.
I was just thinking this. My family went to Six Flags a lot when i was a kid because my mom got free (or discounted, i don't remember) tickets from her job. I was the youngest and Soft(TM) so i largely prefered the baby rides and the calmer rides. I started to enjoy the coasters more as i got older, but i never became an enthusiast so i've never had the desire to return to (and pay for) the park as an adult. When i think of walking around my local six flags, i just remember the big flat concrete walkway. Having stone or brick walkways would do wonders for the atmosphere, especially if they added more green spaces.
Six Flags isn’t meant to be like Disney or Universal, it’s meant to be all about the rollercoasters and if Six Flags drifts away from that aspect of their parks, it’s gonna die! First Toys R Us, now Six Flags!
@@wanderer34 I know it's not, but you ignored that I stated that because it's geared heavily towards a very niche crowd, it's never gonna be that successful unless they drastically change it to be more appealing to families (meaning far less thrill rides and more family oriented attractions that everyone can enjoy). You're not gonna get anywhere close to the numbers Disney and Universal has, ESPECIALLY if you raise the prices on something that is not an experience, but what is essentially cheap thrills. The owners of Six Flags are ignoring this and in turn are gonna lead Six Flags to shut down because they're just not gonna be able to get the amount of guests needed to make it even slightly successful.
In the 90s and early 2000s six flags St Louis was always packed. They had a new water park right when every other small park had closed. They had 3 new DC themed rides(superman, batman, joker) one of which had a mirror clone at universal Orlando. There were rock climbing walls tucked between rides, old west style storefronts where you could dress up and get pictures taken, an amphitheatre where at least 6 shows played daily and outside acts performed regularly. Every area had flavor actors but the medieval area was always packed with extras doing a year round ren-fair. At Halloween hundreds of extras would be hired and haunted houses would open up that smashed every local competitor. Some rides did date back to the 40s but they were well-maintained and people around here loved having older and smaller rides between the new and huge coasters. Kids and adults had plenty to choose from and there was also a kid specific area on top of the rides that were just out of date. At Christmas they sponsored a nearby campsite partner to put up an insane drive-thru light display. They would showcase cutting edge VR technology in huge plazas with 50 plus seats and headsets in addition to having one off machines on the departure walkways for rides. The train could actually be used to navigate the park because it was just so big that people needed the break, but it'd also take you to areas that couldn't be seen on foot that had unique narratives. Now when you go most of that is shut down. There are no extras, no random actors spouting area appropriate dialogue. No small attractions squirrelled away between rides. Nothing. Six flags St Louis was a small city in its own right. Now it's almost dead. In the past ten years local haunted houses have far surpassed six flags in effort and execution so the old tradition of everyone going to six flags and seeing people they knew is gone. There's a dozen better, cheaper, closer options. And almost everyone over 30 working at those outside haunted houses used to work six flags, at the very least for Halloween. Even some owners got their start there. What hurt me, and lots of other people I've spoken to, was the loss of iconic and even historic rides at the park. Those things tied generations together and now they're gone, the continuity broken. For a couple months I worked at a machine shop in eureka, right next to the park. Some days it was still busy and afternoon traffic was a nightmare but most days I couldn't hear any rides running or any water splashing or kids yelling. It was sad and it hurt. That place was an amusement park well before six flags came along so I hope when they fold someone local picks it up again and treats it right. Everyone in St Louis would come right back. Maybe one day soon...
I grew up going to six flags st. Louis. And I couldn't agree more. Everything that gave it character was removed in the early 2000s to make room for something that could make money. Fake Western storefronts that gave the place atmosphere were removed and food stands put in their place. Places to sit and rest in the shade were replaces with things like vending machines and snack stands. Attractions that weren't rides or food were gone, even if they made money. The park could make more money selling soda in those spots. Last time I went I paid 6$ for a warm cup of soda bc they were out of ice and I waited 20 mins in the sun for it. And I've never gone back. We all know these places exist to separate you from your money but there is no value to Six Flags anymore.
Very well written! As a child of the 80's, Six Flags was a yearly excursion for myself, my sister and my parents, up until my younger brothers were born. I miss all of those classic rides, like Jet Scream, Hannibarrels, Tom's Twister, Mo-MO The Monster, the too-short-lived Condor and probably several others I can't think of at the moment. And my favorite part of every excursion was getting a three-scoop ice cream cone from that First Cone place located near the front of the park. The last time I went to Six Flags was way back in 2004, and it was a very forgettable experience. I'm 43 now, and I often daydream about going back and maybe recapturing some of that old childhood magic, but too any changes in the park keep making me consider otherwise.
I worked at six flags st Louis a year before the pandemic and it was brutal. Rare days it would be packed and the rest id barely see 100. Pay was shit, they’d force me to stay over hours, management was all teens or early 20 somethings
I went to this park a ton through the 90’s and early 2000’s. It used to be packed. We went for the first time in several years this past weekend and I was amazed walking through the extremely long queue for the Boss and remembering how that line was packed with people for a very long time. We were able to walk right up and get on without a wait. I’m not complaining of course. It was nice being able to get right on every ride, but walking those extremely long queues, was part annoying/part depressing, thinking how they used to actually need them like that.
My bf and I love Six Flags so much, being our first date 7 years ago (high school sweethearts). We had the Diamond Elite membership 2018-2019 and let me tell you, the discounts on merchandise and food had me buying things I didn't need. That was peak of the potential for Six Flags. The park was FULL. I still have like 15 SF hoodies in my closet. For our anniversary this year, I purchased the 2023 Diamond Pass and Platinum Season FastPass for ourselves ($1k in total). This is not only a huge price jump from pre-pandemic times, but the perks themselves fall short. They even put a ONE-time use per visit of the FastPass for certain rides! This CEO's plan will destroy SF. I just hope it falls apart after 2023 so our passes don't go out in vain :(((
Cedar Fair by far is just better at managing their parks and just overall bringing a better guest experience to their parks. Plus, all their huge parks: Cedar Point, Kings Island, Carowinds, Canada's Wonderland, and Knotts' Berry Farm are all profit makers for them, and those parks do exceptionally well. Heck, Knotts' Berry Farm does over 6 million guests annually and Canada's Wonderland is the 2nd most visited at around 3.96 million (2019 figures). So clearly, Cedar Fair is smarter with their business strategies and money, and they are conservative when they need to be. So it's no wonder why their stock price is higher, they're able to gain more income from less parks, and that their attendance numbers are just going up way more.
Totally agree. They struggled in 2021, but have bounced back tremendously this year. They did this even while the revenue from Canada’s Wonderland was being slashed due the current weakness of the Canadian dollar vs the US dollar.
@@AttractionIdeas I don't want Six Flags to go away completely, but looking at the bigger picture, I can't really see myself wanting to visit a Six Flags park. Like why visit Six Flags Magic Mountain and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, over like California's Great America or Knotts' Berry Farm, despite Magic Mountain having great rides.
I remember seeing Six Flags over Texas decline in real-time. Every time I go there it just looks worse and worse. It makes me really sad, especially when I hear my mom talk about when the park was new and she used to go with her family.
Yeah I remember they came out with the new Harley Quinn ride six Flags Arlington, and like not even a year later they shut it down permanently. Got to ride it once and it was sick
This is so crazy, I used to go to Six Flags Magic Mountain in L.A. and it was awesome when I was a kid (late 80s and early 90s) and I loved it. I worked at that same park later on in my early 20’s as a roller coaster mechanic and I loved that job. The amount of back systems that are in place for safety (at least at Magic Mountain) was incredible, lots of extra safety systems in place.
Disney’s biggest victory is their name brand. They have brain washed buyers who still haven’t learned. Disney has declined heavily since 2015. The better experiences right now with high caliber staff, food, and rides are parks like Dollywood and Universal Orlando in my opinion.
lol Seriously? The food was about as good a what you get a Country Buffet or Golden Corral. ...Actually that's kind of offensive to Country Buffet and Golden Corral. It's far worse. It's more like the stuff at any buffet that's been under the heat lamps all day drying out but 10x the price. And why people especially adult love Disney is beyond me. It's one of the worst companies out there yet its fans turn a blind eye to how horrible the are.
Food quality was garbage at Cedar Point the time I went. Even the Cinnabon was stale. The chicken strips were subpar, but still edible I guess. Big money for garbge. These parks need to focus more on easier stuff to manage like hot dogs. Hot dogs are extremely easy and the best park food you can have. Put hot dog stands at every friggin intersection and ride location in the park and watch the money flow. Most people just want good tasting nourishment and hot dogs provide that. Cheap to buy, cheap to cook and maintain freshness and good profits and most everyone likes a good hot dog. Easy to carry and eat while walking. Forgot all the pizza and chicken and fish and all that other nonsense that is 10x the effort to cook and maintain.
this is the truth, 9 times outta 10 me and the boys are hitting up the McDonald’s or dennys by magic mountain, but I’ll go to knotts all the time just for the food
Sad.. I’ve lived in Arlington my whole life and it’s sad watching a place I spent so much time as a child/teen just completely go to trash. Back in the 90s six flags was everything! Clean up the parks, keep up with the maintenance, and fix the horrible food!!
I went to that location last year and it seemed like it was in the same condition it’s always been. 🤷🏻♂️ My issue though is the long waits for the rides. We even bought a speed pass and it still was a long wait, not to mention the inconvenience of having to schedule your rides from the speed pass. The problem is DFW metro is growing fast, but the park remains the same size. And there are no real competitors.
@@lastname-Nm Man aint that the truth. I remember when the Wild Waves up here in WA did just that, it was Enchanted Village on one side and Wild Waves on another. PERFECT park. THEN came the buyout of Six Flags. DOWNHILL from there. Will be sad if the entire park closes... It is definitely not the same, the upkeep and cleanliness is definitely something that should alone be addressed..
That’s why Hershey park was always magical when I was younger. I lived an hour away and went all the time with my parents and sister. The rides were a main attraction but looking back on it the best part was the amazing park itself, so so many different things to do. As a 21 year old I would 100% still go with friends, it’s a great place.
That's because Hershey personifies the phrase "Jack of all trades, master of none." but it also has the advantage of being privately owned and using its brand.
I agrée! We went to Hershey Park for the first time this last summer. It was a fantastic introduction to roller coasters for my 11 year old daughter. Clean, good food and very well maintained.
I grew up going to Six Flags in Eureka MO. In the '70's and '80's it was kind of a big deal. They had a nice amphitheater where I saw Jerry Lee Lewis, Merle Haggard and Blue Oyster Cult. The year they opened The Screamin' Eagle, a rollercoaster with a drop of significant depth, we waited in line for 90 minutes to ride that thing. Good times.
Living 30 minutes away from Six Flags Over Texas, it was a STAPLE for my childhood. Birthdays, holidays, basically any excuse my parents could make so we could go. You used to be able to bring coke cans to the park for discounts on tickets, and there were times when I would just stand in the glass making shop for hours just watching them make the little glass figures while my sister would stand in line for rides I didn't like. I haven't gone back in years because of the prices. We drove by a few days ago and I watched as one of the roller coasters went by only carrying 3 or 4 people. It's pretty depressing to see something from my childhood just slowly die like this.
Me and my family went to Six flags over texas a few years back while vacationing in Texas: it was a good time that was cut short. But got on the big rides which was nice
We went about a month ago. Half the rides were closed, but it was nice to get on all the open coasters really fast. They also found my wallet under one of the coasters and called me the next day to let me know. Nice employees, but sad to see them not get the what they deserve, i.e. better rides, etc.
I remember Six Flags Astroworld fondly, the only thing that remains standing is the bridge that goes over the 610 loop. Especially since in junior high the entire school used to go once a year. Given it closed in 2005, the only thing that really comes to mind in those last few years is the lack of maintenance and the impression that it became a giant glorified weekend daycare rather than an amusement park.
Lots of gang activity too. It just wasn't a safe place. Astroworld was the absolute best six flags park too!! Probably because it wasn't originally a 6 flags park it was originally family owned and they nailed all the fun themed stuff. I was born in the 80s and grew up in the 90s so Astroworld was everything back then! Man, I miss that place. 6 flags has screwed up so much.
Astroworld in Houston, TX was awesome back in the 80s and 90s when I was a kid. Fun place. Sad when it closed. Many fun times there. Wish it was still there and going.
About a month ago I went to Six Flags and immediately went on a rollercoaster which broke down mid-ride. Naturally, this was an unsettling experience. When I spoke to a manager about my concerns, they were very condescending and unempathetic. They literally said "I can't account for your feelings". I left feeling 3 inches tall. This place is nowhere near where it used to be and I can definitely see it's going down hill.
Sounds like a toxic work environment. Employees are barely being payed if at all, I assume. They're the kinds to say "I'm sorry you feel that way." That phrase is almost always an indicator of a toxic relationship.
The issue is that they are tired of hearing it. Every F'n person at the park believes their opinion is unique and important and needs to be heard and you can bet it's neither unique and certainly not important at the time. The employee working on the ride isn't at fault, they can't do a damn F'n thing for you at the time. Their only concern is getting people off safely and getting the ride back up and running for all the other people still waiting. Your self important complaint is irrelevant to all their other current duties at the time and only serves to slow progress down. If you have a complaint, take it to the offices where there are legit people there to take down your complaint.
actually if i remember correctly, supervisors are encouraged to offer a courtesy pass to anyone on a ride when it breaks down, but that depends on how bad the incident was. So technically some customer concerns of that type are their concern. not that I'd expect them to actually care about and adhere to that tho
@@hughjanus7589 No, it's not the concern of anyone currently working at the ride whose duty is to get the ride functional again. They don't have time to listen to everyone complain, that's what the office is for.
Glad I learned this. I stopped going to six flags because I couldn’t even get into the park because the lot was literally overflowing into the streets. I hope it stays like this so I can actually get on more than 2 rides a trip without getting frustrated with the waits
This guy is such an idiot at such a high level of incompetence that if I was that board of directors I would make sure he could never become a ceo of any other company ever again in his life because that's how dangerously stupid he is.
@@ffwast well, you either lead by executive or committee, and the history of business is that committees suck at developing comprehensive strategies in actionable time frames - and we won’t even get into lack of performance ownership. You need someone with solid experience and have their personal compensation be high stakes for the decisions they make to ensure focus and accountability. It’s not like in the past few hundred years alternative approaches weren’t tried.
Six Flags was a staple of my childhood summers. At some point in the last decade I came to the realization that theme parks, with perhaps the exception of Disneyland/world, are not the same anymore. I haven't been to a theme park since 2014 and I don't think I'd ever be able to trust that I wouldn't die on some malfunctioning coaster due to the way corporations run their businesses nowadays cutting corners on costs and no longer valuing or prioritizing safety, despite what they tell the public. I worked at a Macy's in a large city mall for about 4 years before the pandemic, and I was constantly witnessing and experiencing safety hazards just trying to do my job. We had monthly safety meetings and my observations and concerns on things that needed to get fixed or replaced were constantly put on the back burner. They don't care about workers OR customers anymore.
Macy’s is such a corrupt and greedy company, I’m so glad that they’re failing. When I worked there they fired a pregnant mother of 2 when her husband got in a car accident because she couldn’t work on Black Friday, since she had to look after their kids while he was in the ER. At that time, working a 10 hour shift on Black Friday was mandatory for every employee in the store. I’ll never forget that.
That's my fear, as well! After that teenaged boy just feel out of the seat of a roller coaster, last year & died! I'm terrified to go on any of those rusty, malfunctioning rides.
Guest experience is really what’s killing them as a company. I was a season ticket holder for years but had an experience so bad I don’t feel safe going back. Back in 2018 me and my son went to six flags America and they were having issues checking visitors into the park. We stood outside of the gates for an hour and a half, once we finally got inside they had to shut down the water park. Everyone in the park rushed for the drink stands all at once. My son who was only 3 ended up passing out, I started crying and panicking and no employees helped at all, I had the push him in his stroller all the way across the park to the first aid center.
I went to Six Flags Over Georgia for the first time in 5 years over the summer and holy hell has that park gone downhill. Almost all of the employees I encountered were rude teenagers who clearly didn't want to be there and didn't give a flying fuck about their jobs. Me and my brother had a hard time getting fastened in for one of the rides and the people riding with us were more helpful than the actual employees. I know what it's like to be young working minimum wage, believe me i know - it sucks absolute ASS, but I don't remember any of the employees being as blatantly rude as they were when I was younger. Not to mention a very good portion of the rides were closed. Such a shame to see how downhill these parks have gone. Edit: Yesterday I saw a headline about how SFOG apparently had at least 5 fights break out in the park on opening day. One of the fights apparently involved huge groups of teenagers going at it. You would've never heard about this happening just 5 years ago.. it literally crushes my heart to think about how far downhill Six Flags has gone. What used to be one of my favorite places to go as a kid that I looked forward to all year long has turned into basically a wasteland.
I think things have gotten even worse for minimum wage employees, regardless of whenever you were last stuck in that position (at which point it was probably already pretty bad). Inflation and cost of living keeps going up and up, while minimum wage barely budges. You go deeper and deeper into debt while being scolded for not having "passion" for your work, or from not being "loyal" to the company screwing you over. And it sounds like Six Flags treat their employees even worse than average, and effectively steal their already paltry wages by forcing them to work through "breaks" and not letting them bill for time spent doing things like getting into the park or putting on makeup. No wonder the customer service is terrible - they're probably barely holding themselves back from strangling the closest person they can reach.
SF over GA is known as a drop off babysitter for local kids - the staff doesn't care because they are teens and it's generally just a dangerous park of kids gone wild because there is no true security. I live 30 min away and would travel to Disney / Universal, etc. for the sole purpose of feeling safe and that we could have family fun for the money spent. SF could offer MAJOR discount passes and I would ----- PASS!
@@yambone635 this. It's not just wages, but workers are being squeezed for more and more labor with less and less relief, ever increasing expectations, and a public full of nasty, entitled boomers and genxrs
SFA is my home park. I've been filling out surveys for years saying a fresh coat of paint is long over due, but nothing. So after 8yrs of being a passholders my family of 4 have opted out. First factor was the discontinuation of the lunch, dinner, snack dining pass. The food sucks, I'm not paying more! Second is that the park still needs a paint job. The final straw was cutting the water park out of the season pass. There is not enough to do at the park to make it worth the upgrade price for the water park inclusion.
Seems like SF has been declining for years now. I’ll never forget they they did to AstroWorld. It’s heartbreaking, a lot of my childhood, especially late teen years, was spent at SF busy they can’t seem to get out of their own way.
I would say be careful about getting sued for defamation, but the dead cant sue and by god you killed him. Spot on with everything you are saying with recipts to boot. Wonderful video!
@@sliedogg Some of it's still speculative. Even if they could prove some of what he said is untrue, they would also have to prove that he had malicious intent. So no, he's in no danger, it would cost them more than they could get out of it anyway.
I clicked on this video lookin for some fun information and what I got was first class analysis and insight and a hell of a pipe bomb promo on the CEO of Six Flags. Well done my friend. As a financial professional and a fan of good hard commentary, this was absolutely awesome.
My parents actually met while working at Six Flags Over Texas, so I owe my very existence in part to that park. We went there all the time as kids, and it was always magical to me, especially given how important it is to our family history. Seeing it now almost makes me want to cry with how far it's fallen. I love that park, and I really hope that they can pull through and become something amazing again.
Worth noting that this year, many parks in the system heavily released their Full-Time staff and supervisors. People with sometimes decades of experience in the parks. Even if somehow the parks rebound spontaneously? The service and staffing will be years behind recovering in experience and quality.
My sister got a job performing at SF over Georgia so I went to support her and it was just insane how much stuff was just still standing there empty. Splash water Falls was torn down, so the entire area was an overgrown O shaped pool. Half the stores and restaurants felt like they weren’t open. Sky Buckets were closed (massive rest in peace 💔 ). Just a completely different and bad energy imo
TBF SFOG is honestly a rather weak park. I live about two hours from it and have gone numerous times and each successive visit just felt worse and worse.
I went to Holiday in the Park last year and I was really disappointed how SFOG looks. It's nothing like how it was when I went nearly every other week as a child.
@Maddox2021 - Comedy and More Alternate North of Atlanta. I'm about an hour and half away from a far more superior park: Dollywood, which i highly recommend!!
I used to love Six Flags. I grew up begging my parents to take me every summer. But as time went on, I don't know if it's me getting older or if people have always been obnoxious. But either way, the obnoxious and entitled crowds got me. I remember standing in line one for a roller coaster, and having this woman behind me scream directly in my ear as she yelled for her friend up ahead. People would also cut in line, insisting they were meeting up with their group who just so happened to be wayy at the very front. Not only were people annoying as f to deal with, but the pricing ...The price to park your car alone was outrageous!!! It's a parking lot, not a bridge that needs to be maintained or else it'll collapse. On top of parking price, the price for tickets, even after discounts, are insane. Add inflation on top if that. It's unaffordable. It's no wonder they're going downhill.
I never pay for parking but I live 15 mins away from a six flags and get the season pass for for $50-60 a piece every year when it goes on sale. I don't have to buy anything so many times I only spend like $10 for free refill bottle you bring back every time. It can be very affordable if you do it right.
@@RecklessTheory Not everyone lives 15 min away from a theme park :/ so technically it can be very expensive especially if you want to stay for more than one day and have to book a hotel/motel :( I haven't been to six flags in years and always wanted to go back but am unable to and it's sad seeing this decline at six flags sigh kinda depressing I wish I lived near a theme park
@@RecklessTheory not all of us live 15 mins from a park tho :( as for my bf and I, we live about an hour to an hour 30 from SFMM and so, the money we spend on gas and the time spent just driving there makes it unaffordable
As a long time resident of the San Antonio area, I used to love Fiesta Texas as a kid. It was never Cedar Point (which I frequented as a child, living in SE Michigan) but it was fun, relatively clean, and had decent rides. My girlfriend and I spent a day there a few years ago, and it was pretty much exactly the same as it was when I was a kid. And that’s not a good thing. Everything was older, more worn looking, and they hadn’t added very much since then. Maybe 1 or 2 rides that were shut down on our visit. The few rides that were actually open were the same rides that have been at the park for decades. It doesn’t look like they’ve put any money into the park in 20+ years. Attendance was way down when we went, likely because it doesn’t offer anything different than it ever has. It’s sad, but that’s I guess how the parks are gonna be.
Yeah. I’m a genxer in west texas. Last time I went was around 95. Now have four kids. Took the 8 and 6 year old this year around may. It looked the SAME!!🤣 It was kind of comforting for me at first seeing ‘looney toons’ drawings. Felt like a time warp. Then I noticed the dilapidated, worn atmosphere, and the general cliental socio economic status and it hit me this wasnt just due to the pandemic.
19:24 The Diamond Pass is only really valuable if you're travelling around the country and visiting ALL the SF parks on a regular basis. The jump for 90 to 250 only seems relevant to rollercoaster enthusiasts that spend their summer riding rollercoasters across the country. As someone that used to live in Gurnee near that park, I think the sneaky "Platinum Pass" upgrade being the best way to get access to Hurricane Harbor would irritate me. I bought a season pass about 10 years ago for my whole family (as I recall, I got 5 of them for about $300 or so at the time) and that INCLUDED Hurricane Harbor. They need to get this stuff ironed out. I'd hate to see SF go under and Great America get shut down or sold off to another outfit.
I only have two memories of six flags. One is absolutely loving it, and one is me almost dying. I went on that big huge ride that swings back and forth with my brother, and you go upside down at both ends right? So my brother did my buckle for me and it was very secure and I felt safe, but then the man in charge of the ride came over to make sure everyone was locked in safely. He pulled on my buckle and basically pulled it loose, but was somehow satisfied it was secure and then moved on. Once we got to the top of the ride and we went upside down, I literally slipped and almost fell out of the seat to the ground, but my brother caught me and never took his hand off me the rest of the time. It was scary when it happened but I was little and didn't really realise the danger I was in, but now I understand
@@No_More_Naggers Comment: "I almost died." Response: "Bravo! What a hero." Lol, what?? Bro, are you good? Do you need a mental hospital? Are you mentally challenged? You need therapy? Trying to get attention? Want mommy's love? Want daddy's approval?
@Maddox2021 - Comedy and More Alternate It was an obvious joke, but just so you know demoing steel does give you money rather than just costing money. Scrappers pay bank for metal.
I loved six flags as a kid! My dad would always take my sister and I whenever we visited my Grandma in the summer. It’s tragic to know the parks are in trouble.
One of the first things I noticed was parking has increased by $10-$25 depending on the parking. Basic parking at magic mountain is now $45. Luckily I have a season pass, so parking is included, but still, people for a day is getting gouged
I was extremely surprised too, last year I subscribed to get free parking instead of paying 20, now my dad bought me another season pass so he doesn't spend 40 on parking :0
I live about a half hour away from a six flags. This video made me realize all their radio advertisements ceased to exist this year. That's EXTREMELY weird where I live. I've heard them for decades
The things that ticked me off about Six Flags is 1) In 2022 the Season Passes no longer let you go to any park and you had to pick only one. Luckily there was a Black Friday sale that gave you an upgrade to go to all parks. That wasn't available again in 2023, 2) The price of the Dining Plan went from $109 to $149 and dropped the Snack and dropped the free drinks. I still got a Season Pass, but we won't be going but a couple of times next year.
Will a couple of times even save you money? I've been to Universal/Islands a couple of times and Disney once. All when I was 40+. I didn't pay any time. My buddy worked for Universal. I won't go back to Disney. It's def. for children. Not to mention, the political BS.
I am a local to the Six Flags Great America. As a child, I remember we wouldn't need a season pass, and our trip would still be affordable. I remember going to shows in the theatres whenever they would have those. I remember just how alive it felt and Southwest Territory would actually have shows and animal events and what not. I then worked there for my first job. I worked there once more out of desperation before cutting the employee ties with them. As for being a guest as a young adult however, the decline has been so drastic. Areas of the park had become just empty. Usually, amusement parks try to remain immersive, trying to blur the lines of the outside world, but with six flags...you can just tell you are there to ride the rides and THAT.IS.IT. I would go on my days off of work and would ride a few rides. The souvenir cups were worth the price. The meal plans were also worth the price as well especially being a local and having the season pass, but if you didnt have that all set up, it was gunna be PRICEY and not all of the portions are created equal. Some places youd get the bang for your buck while others would leave you wanting more. Overall, being a local and having gone during its hayday, it has reaall come down hill and when they removed the dining plans, it really was a nail in their coffin. That was a big draw for season pass holders, now it just doesnt feel worth it...(dont get me started on the flash pass vs the gold, silver, etc tiers for season passes)
I used to go to Great America about 10 times a year, driving a couple hours from NW Indiana for years. I used to love just aimlessly wandering around the park and seeing where my day would take me with my best friend, then enter Fright Fest 2013. I realized that year at Fright Fest that it felt more lackluster than the year prior, wait times were unbelievably large, you'd only get to ride maybe 3 rides; so my friend and I would just ride the rave cups over and over cause it was fun and a short line lol But prices skyrocketing, lackluster service, and not having a flash pass platinum essentially killed the experience.
Every single time I go to Dallas/Arlington's 6 Flags I get prompted to take a survey. Half the restaurants during October had been converted to October fest which pushed guests into the few restaurants that weren't converted, increasing the time you stood in line to order food to almost an hour, not to mention the fact that to get refills on drinks you had to get BACK in line and wait another hour. All of the refill stations were closed. Attendance was through the roof, it took nearly two hours to get on Runaway Mountain! And the "scare zones" weren't even manned for Fright Fest half the time. I don't see how attendance was so low when everytime I go I end up riding one or two rides and leave. But I definitely let them have it with both barrels on the survey. Especially that asshole ceo.
Its just insane to me how this plan went. Charge a premium price for a non-premium experience, with no change whatsoever from the original experience, while also getting less variety due to some of the attractions being closed. On top of all that having the park work with way less budget like if it was gonna help
Like I understand Six Flag’s CEO and wanting to reduce wait times. I myself have constantly complained about multiple hour waits or even 45 minute waits on every ride. With that being said, the problem is, I’M ALWAYS ALREADY INSIDE THE PARK WHEN I’M COMPLAINING. Like not once did I ever want to go to an amusement park and decide not to because of long lines. Usually weather, felling sick, unforeseen events, lack of money are why I wouldn’t be able to go. If a person or family wants to go to an amusement park, unless it’s one of those options above, they’re gonna go regardless. The whole line problem is faced when the tickets are purchased and they’re already inside the park. At that point as a business you won, you got the customer inside your park and with long lines they’ll probably want to look at stores in hopes of the time reducing in like an hour. Nowadays, I expect all rides to take like at least 20 minutes to get on (Besides opening, closing, or events like parades happening) and I feel many of us have come to accept it. Maybe one visit you’re lucky and find your favorite ride with a 10 minute wait but no one expects that same wait each time they go. The long wait in line is just tradition at this point so to try to have that as a selling point isn’t believable because the CEO doesn’t control how many people decide to come into the park on a day. If multiple people see quick wait times, they’ll come more possibly and more people will come until either the CEO ups the price even more, alienating whatever minimal customers are left or the same cycle of multiple hour long lines occur and that turns people away along with the expensive ticket price. Overall, just a stupid idea from a stubborn idiot who is just further proof that people with money aren’t always the brightest.
The last time I was at a park, the lack of maintenance SCARED me. We left early, and only road 1ride. I was given the tickets, but if I had paid, I would have demanded a refund. Also, a park that's a ghost town is more of a RED FLAG than a sign that "oooh short lines" no, it's more - why is everyone staying away? What do they know that I don't?
Exactly! My friend went on the Thunder Rapids water ride and there weren’t enough people to go in the raft and when it went into the black and white little vortex part, the raft was literally catching air and about to go off the ride. Craziness.
I think you really hit the nail on the head here. In the two years Spanos took charge, he was actually doing some good things and then poof! Salim comes in and manages to undo not only the two years Spanos took charge, but somehow managed to make Jim Reid Anderson look better in comparison. I don’t entirely blame him, but the board of directors that thought “Let’s take what isn’t broken and try to fix it” Yes, Six Flags has some cracks showing, but this year compared to the last decade took the cake. I myself have been a big supporter of Six Flags in the past, but until they get their act together, I’m taking my money elsewhere.
He needs to take a page out of Jeffery Siebert’s book. That man has transformed Fiesta Texas. The park is so pretty again. Food is good, customer service is better and new rides/experiences. Arlington (Over Texas) is just pathetic right now. So sad!! I have such great memories.
No matter what you do, you can't reposition a bargain option as premium by simply by restructuring tiers. It's a damn mess and the parks are rightly suffering for leadership's bad decisions. And the only reason per-guest spending is up, is because concession and souvenir prices are also up.
Personally, I’d love to see a park come in like Efteling. The park is kept up and GORGEOUS. And yeah, it doesn’t have as many intense thrill rides as Six Flags parks, it still manages to bring in a LOT of attendees.
There were so many people shrooming when I went we all ended up hanging out together. There were nine of us 3-4-2. And none of the groups knew each other but we met in line for Dream Flight. That place is perfect for adults on mild hallucinogens.
I worked at six flags for a few years pre pandemic as my first job, and kept going back because I genuinely had a good time (games department let's go!). I worked for one summer post pandemic and it was enough to kill all love I had for the job. No one came back, no effort was put into training the new hires, we had new management who pushed for selling and constantly understaffed us. 3 people would run 5 games between them, even on busy days. Guests would be super entitled, and the ones who weren't were still being told the wrong things by employees who were thrown in the deep end. I wasn't even a manager, but by sheer virtue of having worked for more than 2 years I ended up showing new employees the ropes and being the one they went to when a customer was awful. I'm sad to see the old magic of the parks go, but in their current state I don't feel that bad about it
As a Georgia native and someone who loved six flags as a kid and my first roller coaster ride I ever took was at six flags over Georgia this is sad to see.
So, I grew up in a town with Six Flags Magic Mountain as its biggest draw to it. So I have seen that particular park over the decades. What has caused me to not want to return IS mostly the price point. But its also because of their change in attitude. When I was a child, Batman the Ride was released. They remade an ENTIRE SECTION of the park into Gotham. It was REALLY cool, and waiting in line had a STORY. And while now, Gotham is "Still there" Its a faint shadow of its original self. They also abandoned the idea of telling a story, or having entertainment, throughout the line. This makes standing in line 2-5 hours of sheer BOREDOM (2008 was the last time I was there). I get they arent a Theme Park. But I think that having Themed areas around a ride or 2, would raise enjoyment QUITE a bit. Other Rides they did this for, BTW, were Superman and Psyclone, both also extremely popular. Just something I would recommend to them...
It was a Warner Brothers/Loony Toons theme park. That's why they had Superman, and Batman. I've never heard of this Cedar place... What IPs do their rides have? Six Flags over GA was great. I don't remember if there was a story. But there is with the Monster Mansion. Was the Monster Plantation, when I was a kid. Seems like American entertainment and parks peaked between 1985-2009. I wonder if smart phones have had an impact on them. The years are oddly suspicious.
@@macturner2196 originally Magic had nothing to do with WB. They had Trolls as characters. And many people ive talked to say that the park was best then, in the 60 and 70s. Cedar parks, i dont think they have any IPs. But their rides are pretty awesome. And i dont think it was smartphones. Americans havent enjoyed the amount of free spending money since the mid to late 2000s ahat they enjoyed through the 80s and 90s.
Fellow SCV! my last visit wasn't bad because i hate crowds, but it still felt like a death knell years ago, i was surprised it's still operating at all tbh
I went to six flags mm a few years back for a paid company trip, and let me tell you, it was the WORST theme park experience I've ever had. We went on a day that was scorching hot and packed. Took us nearly an hour to get inside the park and I almost passed out from the heat. Keep in mind I was not the only person to do so that day. Bathroom lines were horrendously long because of limited Bathroom stalls (one I went to had only two stalls. TWO) the price of everything was sky high including water which was about 5-6$ for a bottle. It really is all about the money. Six flags doesn't give a shit about their customer's experience.
We used to go to Six Flags St. Louis every year growing up as a day trip from Central IL. We were poor so it was a treat to splurge on for us kids. The prices lately would make it nearly impossible to afford to do that today for most families in a similar living situation to what we had in the 90s. The quality is way, way down from back then and it's hard to justify the cost for a worse experience. The whole reason anyone went was because it was extremely affordable compared to a trip to Disney and Universal for your average working family and the value for the money was actually pretty good. His plan sounds kind of insane to me. Trying to take the budget park to premium while souring the experience for everyone in the meantime by overcharging and under providing.
I agree ! There are alot of problems that need to be fixed with Six flags, instead of focussing on increasing the price so less people attend they should foccus on fixing the rides and having 2 carts per coaster so the lines go by faster. Even with less people the lines are just as long if not more long due to only running one coaster at a time, and thats even if the rides themselves work and arent closed... Fix the already existing rides before you add new rides ! Fix the lines situation hire more employees and run a successful buisness!
I concur 100% . Last visit to SF Magic Mountain, the park was full of mean muggers with the long shorts and high socks, jumping lines and daring you to say something. Dirty bathrooms and long waits. Oh, and the stabbing in the parking lot was the icing on the cake.
@patrickholland4708 Can NO ONE SAY ANYTHING with some idiot saying you were being racist?!?! So WHAT he said mean muggers? So WHAT? In your definition, all mean muggers are black people so therefore we can’t talk about them and point out that there are dangerous people at that park because they are probably black? So yeah, let’s just ignore very important facts because someone MIGHT BE BLACK?
I had similar experience at 6 Flags in Dallas a year ago, even my credit card info got stolen at the parking payment booth. I didn't risk going to the bathroom though, so giving them benefit of the doubt on that one.
I absolutely love six flags and this breaks my heart to hear. Like seriously, this sucks. A week ago we went to Six Flags over Texas a week ago and it was VERY empty. We loved the short ride wait times, but it made me worried because..well..nobody was really there. Sucks to see this happening.
I definitely agree that of the things I feel like would make Six Flags more of a contender to other places is if they improved the overall atmosphere of the park. When you go to Disneyland you feel like you're almost in another world, but when you go to Six Flags you feel like you're in a parking lot. Literally, the Six Flags in my city has only a chain-link fence barrier between the rides and the actual parking lot. To contrast, Disney has huge facades using perspective to make it seem like the environment goes on forever, like with the mountains in Radiator Springs Racers in California Adventure. Even Six Flags' waterparks have a better atmosphere than their amusement parks. And I know their main big thing is "thrills" so they focus more on the roller coasters rather than the theme, but after a few visits the rides aren't that exciting anymore. Unless you're absolutely in love with going on big coasters you won't have many reasons to go back. And I know comparing it to Disneyland isn't that great cause Disney has Disney money, but if they keep it like it is they will continue to face difficulties. Maybe if they really honed in on the DC stuff, especially with the success of The Batman, they could get people excited again. Also I totally agree with his points in the video about comparing them to Disney and I know I did that in this whole paragraph LOL but you can also say similar stuff about other parks like Knott's Berry Farm (which is run by Cedar Fair) who tries pretty hard to build an inviting atmosphere especially with the effort they put into Ghost Town and events like Ghost Town Alive, or also even Universal Studios Hollywood and their European streets or the Hogwarts castle in wide view, like imagine if in Six Flags there was a wide view of Bruce Wayne's Manor The food thing is totally true too, all of these other parks have signature food items that people really love. Some examples: Universal has Harry Potter Butterbeer and The Simpson's Donut, Knott's Berry Farm has the Boysenberry, Disney has literally everything (mickey ice cream, mickey pretzels, beignets, dole whip, and more). The only thing I can think of at Six Flags that is significant enough is their funnel cakes. Six Flags is the amusement park of my city, so many people here have season passes, and they sometimes only go to Six Flags to get the funnel cake and leave, so the line always takes incredibly long. But the funnel cakes are not that great either and they aren't special to Six Flags, again maybe if they had DC inspired things like a Green Lantern signature drink or batarang cookies or something
You’re in SoCal, this doesn’t really apply to us. The parks are Tier 1 here, he’s not taking about the flagship parks, he’s taking about all of the other ones. In SoCal we’re super spoiled because of the location and attendance numbers. California is not a significant portion of this call I would assume. Tourism makes up for price increases.
@@dv6342 No I agree with you I definitely don’t think our Six Flags is going to die out anytime soon but I’m just saying if people ranked the parks around here Six Flags would likely be last, to me at least it’s not near being competitive to the other options. I think the only thing about it is that it has thrill rides which of course is Six Flags’ main thing so it’s good that it has that feature compared to the other parks.
Also I don’t mean to say that I would expect Six Flags to be competitive with a place like Disneyland either but at least in regards to it v.s. Knott’s or possibly just my main comment can still apply to the Six Flags’ in the other locations like with what you mentioned
They can make a Gotham city theme not the one they have it’s cheap and lame. Also Superman it take a while to get up that hill to get into the ride they can make a theme there that’s enjoyable I can go on and on. Also the funnel cake from Knotts are better hahaha. Universals and Disney are in another way different level then six flags and Knotts. I mean look at the la county fair and the Orange County fair there theme is a thousand time better then six flags. They need to be creative make a a type of city walk or Disney shopping centers. That’s what makes this two parks better there shopping and entertainment. I have gone to universals just to walk city walk and eat without entering the park or just to visit the movie theater. Same with Disney just to walk and shop and eat. At Knotts they have the medieval times that’s just around the corner they have restaurants near by and the angel stadiums that attracts people to the theme park. Know six flags they ain’t got nothing to attract people. They have a lot of land to making shopping centers better parking structures and etc. that’s what they need restaurants before entering the park with coffee shops sports bar then inside the park they can redo the entire park with entertainment have like a carnival theme world as well with a wheel of fortune have food like they have at a fair with good carnival games live entertainment so they can seek merchandise this is the key of the money maker for Disney and universal there merchandise exclusive for that said theme park
Even when I went to SF over texas as a kid, the park felt dirty, run down, and dated. And its been 10+ years since I've been, so I imagine it's much worse. I always enjoyed going there, so its sad to see it falling like this, but it's definitely not a surprise with how poorly its been maintained. Beautification really does need to be their focus for a little while. I've never been to Disney, but what I know from all the things I've heard about their parks is the atmosphere, cleanliness, etc. So much of the park looks old and faded from sitting in the sun and not being kept up. So many things made out of wood that are dried up and ugly looking, such as the fences that are everywhere, buildings, and even a few rides. Everything looks filthy and dry. Like look at 4:53 and how dull and old it looks... They really go for the rustic old western look in a lot of places, but it comes off as dull and dated instead of charming.
I feel like you neglect the fact that most average park goers don't really have many options when it comes to visiting theme parks, for instance Six Flags Over Texas and Six Flags Great America are hours away from any Cedar Fair park and they are really the only parks in their area (not all SF parks are like this but most are). Most people don't really have a choice in picking a theme park to visit, unless they live in Florida, California or some other place with a whole lot of big theme parks.
Right. My point is not that consumers are literally picking Cedar Fair over Six Flags. My point is that many people are more willing to spend that kind of money on a Cedar Fair park than a Six Flags park. People are choosing other entertainment experiences over Six Flags like concerts, sporting events and conventions, not necessarily other theme parks.
@@AttractionIdeas Yeah. Like the people with a Cedar Fair park in their local area are much more willing to go there, than a person with a six flags in their local area is willing to go to Six Flags. Though tbh I don't think either are that great. Cedar Fair is improving, but the entire US market is basically a duopoly between the 2, and is largely centered on having just one or 2 huge mega parks in an entire region, rather than a bunch of mid sized parks, each with their own local audience, but still able to capture a regional audience from one another, like what we see in Europe. I mean heck in my own country, 2 of our most succesful theme parks, Djurs Sommerland and Fårup Sommerland, both have 8 coasters now, and are reaching the size and coaster count of some American parks, but they're just a 2 hour drive from one another, and are both in popular holiday going areas. Plus they're both constantly trying to outdo one another, whether it be having the better coaster, the better waterpark, theming, food offerings, equipment for guests like picnic grills, events at the parks like shows and concerts, all that sort of stuff. Most would say these 2 parks are neck and neck, and whenever one park advances forward, the other is right behind and catching up fast! Heck in my case I have 3 theme parks that are within an easy reach of my location including Tivoli Gardens, plus a smaller 4th one a bit further away, and even Liseberg which can be reached within 4 hours by train, even if I haven't been there in several years. Point is its so much easier to visit different parks here and so competition in general is stronger for the most part, and more of a focus is put on the customer experience as a result, rather than in the US where each operator basically has a regional monopoly.
I just go to kings island if I want rides because it's super close. It was better when it was "Paramount" kings island and the security could use an increase. Haven't been since that thug mob attack. Going to far away places for a theme park is for fancy people.
@Maddox2021 - Comedy and More Alternate half of those are because of error by the park guests like someone getting hit by a phone on twisted timbers is because a dumbass brang there phone on the ride
you cant be a park primarily targeted to families who cant afford places like disney...and raise prices at a time where the middle class is actively dying out
The middle class is NOT dying out. Take your false marxist propaganda and spew it somewhere else.
@@MrBaden77 found the boomer
@@cocopie9971 how are they a boomer? Are you solely Judging by their correct statement that the middle class has been shrinking over the last 50 years in a coordinated effort to create a desperate plentiful multi-job dependent lower class? Boomers were responsible for this, practice reading comprehension
@@hntrsmoke8664 the middle class IS dying out. You misinterpreted my response.
@@MrBaden77 lol that's just economics my dude 😂
As an EX six flags employee, I will say these parks are very disfunctional. They are poorly maintained and management keeps cutting budget to the point where all you can do is go on rides and that's it. So if a ride breaks down for a few hours, there is no entertainment or shows to go watch while the get the ride up an running again. If you got to universal or Busch Gardens even Disney, they spend millions a year on entertainment. They need to stop building rides, and fix up what they already have. 1. hire landscaper to gut the old and plant new, creatively. 2. hire entertainment maybe even celebrity appearances for addition cost. 3. start park opening and/or park closing shows IE, water, lights lasers, fireworks 4. pay for music licensing for park music, ensure park speakers are working. 4 clean up rides, repaint them, update some visuals, nothing cheesy. if you do all this, people will return.
We must save this company!
Floats need repairs and some need new speakers. Uprising has been having issues with floats breaking down less than half way through the show. But in general Entertainment needs some TLC. Employees are also tense and stressed out asf because of how many ppl he’s laid off. I’m afraid this is going to lead to burnt out employees and a hostile working environment. My boyfriend and I have many concerns about six flags. He’s completely convinced it’s already got one foot in the grave.
Welcome to the great reset. They think you will just keep giving money (not just here) without getting the service.
I grew up with six flags Great adventure in the 90s and early 2010s, and it was always the same place whenever I went back which is not a good thing. The park feels so dated like you have solid plate glass windows acting as walls for your arcade which is in a circus tent roof building. I like keeping some of the history around but some of it just does not look good to the public. They need to stop doing themed rides to superheroes, instead of licensing it from DC, just come up with a new unique theme for each Batman ride and save yourself some money. Put the money back into the park.
Great ideas
It's simple. Bring back Mr. Six.
I don't really know why they haven't yet. Considering how much nostalgia dominates this day and age, it seems like a no brainer to bring him back to drum up interest in people who remember visiting the parks as a kid.
I think the president of Six Flags should dress up as Mr Six. 🤡
@Maddox2021 - Comedy and More Alternate fax
Nope. ...referring to Mr. Bassoul not Mr. Teeson.
I’ve never even been to a Six Flags park, but any and every time I hear We Like to Party I automatically think of the party bus.
In it's early days Six Flags was a completely different experience, much closer to Disney. There were actually a lot of musical, comedy, action, etc. shows at Six Flags, so like Disney you could take a break between rides, rest, and cool off. The employee to guest ratio and the park and cleanliness was close to Disney. They would greet you walking around and it felt like a real theme park. But that changed long before even the current downfall, and by the 90's it was pretty much all about the rides. Companies sometimes lose sight of what brought them success trying to make an extra 10%, and then have trouble getting back to it.
And as a customer, the idea of them getting by with fewer employees running rides doesn't give me a great feeling about safety being a priority.
I just said I’m not going back because of the idea of there being fewer employees …
In the beginning, the parks were owned by the Wynne family. They wanted parks that took the idea of Disney but were closer and more affordable. I agree, it was a great place to visit back then!! I spent many days there as a teen and young adult. However, when the parks were sold to the group who ran Warner Bros, it all went downhill. It became all about the money, selling the branded merchandise, and the personal "family" atmosphere was washed away by corporate greed
social media ruined it. kids/teens/adults do nothing but glue their hands to their phones sigh
@@NICKI814 it's not that, after the pandemic, the place died off. Social media posting did help them gain more guests. But with the park's history with retarded fights with dumb reasons killed off the fun for everyone else. Those fights made fright fest boring
He fired people I worked with who had been with the company over TWENTY YEARS with little to same-day notice of termination. Absolutely ridiculous and killing the company from the inside out.
Maybe he owns Disney stock?
Companies all ways go after long term employees so they don’t have to pay benefits
@@lavonnethompson4355 school districts do this, too.
His golden parachute is worth FAR more than what he's got going now, apparently.
@@sana-cm7oc lol
Six flags is trying to pull a Disney but they fail to understand one major thing.... DISNEY IS NOT PLAYING THE AMUSEMENT PARK GAME. Disney is selling the Disney experience... no one can compete with that experience... it's its own entire thing.
Yes the experience of line waiting for test track for 4 and a half hours, ah yes love Disney.
@@Jushwa not sure if that's sarcasm or delusional, but the numbers speak.
The people have entirely different expectations between the 2, and they ARE flocking to Disney for what they offer and do well.
Six Flags, can't even do its own thing properly and for some mind boggling reason think they can compete with whats essential a God, while they are just the middling homeless man that everyone sorta minds.
@@Jushwa yes the Disney experience where they put the effort into making sure every little detail matters to said area of the park/ ride that really helps the magic of Disney come to life. The lines r worth the wait id say as you see a lot in said rides, and from there makes you want to wait again to see if you can spot something new the next time you ride. If you don’t wanna wait, just get the fast past. Disney has more entertainment then major rides to waste your time on. Keeps you entertained. The Disney Experience y’all, we’re keeping your guest happy actually is put into play.
Your correct
BEST COMMENT on this video!
this past summer i took my girlfriend to six flags over texas and when i tell you it was one of the worst things that we could've done. there were multiple rides closed, a worker told me it was due to the "lack of staff". what makes me mad is that i paid for tickets to ride ALL the rides not a FEW of the rides.
The lack of staff issue is actually true. Partially the problem that has caused Six Flags to go downhill. For the longest, Six Flags underpaid and overworked their employees. They would hire people from Southern American countries to get around any employee complaints over the crap wage.
It’s all now catching up to them. In a way they brought this on themselves.
Hope u didnt take it out on the worker
lmfao around that time I also went to six flags over texas and the first ride I had ever ridden there broke immediately
@@thecritter519 i didn't. i didn't even say anything to them about it. in fact, i told them that my job was low on workers as well.
@@bepsi_wav8594 crazy. what ride was it?
We stopped going to Six Flags Atlanta years ago. It was totally unsafe for families. The park was overrun with unruly teens. They were cutting lines, yelling profanities, starting fights, etc. No security in the park itself. All of the security staff were just milling around the entrance area.
The rides were primarily operated by teens who were more interested in their cell phones than in actually checking that the guests were safely strapped in. We got off three rides before they started due to the staff not checking that everyone was secured in the seats. I complained to a person that looked like some sort of a supervisor and was told to leave if I didn't like what was happening. We did, and never looked back.
Correction: "The park was overrun with unruly BLACK teens".
@@neilm7902 tf does that have to do with this
@@neilm7902 let me guess,, your a proper white person who married your 3rd cousin..🤣
Oh boy, here we go.
They really do need to do something about line cutters. They cut the line then start a fight if you say anything about it
the problem with lost customers is that once they are lost.. it is VERY difficult to get them back, especially when you don't actually change anything for a couple years
And just like these comments, which are good to have, word of mouth is still king when it comes to advertisement. Thank you for the heads up.
I find it an interesting study that numerous high profile individuals demonstrate less common sense in their leadership roles than do random people on TH-cam. And that's not sarcasm. I've seen a TH-cam commenter post film ideas that were better than the movie a major studio released in an established franchise. I've seen people online demonstrate more intelligence than highly paid political commentators. Six Flags leadership team could have literally sat in a conference room and watched content creators and gleaned their good ideas and the results would have been more productive than hiring a new CEO and going with conventional corporate methods.
And it would have been free advice.
@@matthewmosier8439 Thing is, SIX maxed out at $70 in 2018 ($65 for most of the year) and then backslid for the first year since 2010, with the 2019 share price at $55. Pandemic then dumped the price to $20 in 2020, with a climb back to $45 in 2021. Now to the Board, that 2018-2019 backslide was probably worrying because it meant they couldn't continue to do what they did from 2010-2018. They had that seed of doubt planted before the pandemic. After the pandemic crash and the return to $45, that seed would have grown and they'd be asking themselves "what if the stick never gets back to $70 because we're not doing enough?" That kind of doubting moment, where people are looking for direction, is when people are vulnerable. In comes this guy with The Direction; he says with full confidence that if they implement his changes, they'll not only undo the pandemic losses but reverse the slide and get back to or above $70/share. His confidence will offset that doubt and they'll go with him.
That's the thing - if a company is doing well, they have no incentive to change. If they're not doing well, they just need the right person in the right place at the right time to push them another way. Marvel, for example, has been printing money for a while so it was unlikely that they were to go a change-up. First change-up they did was after Thor 2 flopped; they did a tonal 180 and Thor 3 and Thor 4 became comedies. Second change-up was after Endgame because the actors were aging up and aging out. X-men had already tried just rebooting their own series and that wasn't successful, so just doing Avengers 2.0 wasn't the way forward. So they introduced the canonical miniseries, which took the place of some movies and gave their creative talent more to do since they weren't constrained to a 2-hour movie format. In related but non-Marvel media we can even see a change-up fail if we know where to look: the Josh Trank Fantastic Four movie. Fantastic Four was a dead property at Fox, so the decided to change-up with an indie sci-fi director to do an adaptation of the Ultimates storyline (from when the comics basically did a reboot of the old origin story). This went poorly, the studio tried to step in to save it after focus groups panned it, that made it worse, and the movie flopped. Fantastic Four went dead again until Fox was sold to Disney and Disney made their own version for the MCU.
@@ajjdgj6tmgedvnmtmek You make some good points. I appreciate you doing a deeper dive into the subject because it got me interested in digging into what I thought about it, more.
I just keep returning to the fact that proximity to money and power is a blinding situation for a person to live in. The mental restrictions of having to live with peer pressure from very powerful people can be destructive to common sense, I think. I agree, in the context you gave, a new CEO's bad idea, if packaged with the proper "energy" would definitely have been tempting to a grouo who had just ridden out the pandemic.
That said, I think you are seeing, also, the bad ideas which have been growing under the surface of corporations for years, finally coming out in more recent days. Basically, a lot of corporate minds were steeped in Commie propoganda all through their university days. This is especially true of CEOs from old money who come from the demographic which supplies the bulk of hyper-progressivism's radicals. They think ESG scores and China are going to take over the world soon (an idea which I believe they went with way early and which will wind up reseting political things a few decades into the past, very soon) This mindset of an elite wealthy class (maybe the top 30% or so of the American public) tempts CEO's, including at places like Disney, to cater only to that group of people, something which involves raising prices and essentially limiting accessibility for everybody else.
Anyway, this has just been my observation of the world at large, during and since, the pandemic. The wealthy think that their time has come to destroy the cruise industry, theme parks, etc. All of the lower cost things that common people utilize to enjoy their lives.
It wasn’t even price in my area. It was the gangs and lack of security. You’d go to the park just to get cut by well a gang of people. We had yearly stabbing and the place was a dump. Middle class families never had the chance. Once you lose customers, it’s extremely hard to get them back.
If Six Flags goes out of business I’d love to see a new company (not Cedar Fair or any other preexisting group) swoop in and buy the liquidated parks and bring them back to life. I feel like we’re long overdue for a new take on theme parks!
Elon Musk might buy them
Well said, if so, then that’s what needs to be done, this place if ghetto af
Would be to expensive this is a fleeting business taken over by Disney and a few others. Close the doors and call it quits 🤣
@@lifthill3819 the amount of deaths hed now be responsibke for😶
Cedar Fair is working though let’s be honest - ANYONE is better than now.
The last time I went to six flags it wasn't too bad. They had these incredible murals made of chewing gum stuck onto all the trees that you can look at while you wait for the ride. And the lucky people on the superman ride got to be on it for almost an hour.
Totally underrated comment lol
😂👍
I was on that line for 2 hours last year
Had us in the first half ngl
This is the six flags experience
It never occured to me as a child the things that would change as we grew up. Nearly everything from my childhood memories has closed and become only nostalgia. You don't think about these things until you're older. Although we don't go back to these places, they are places we love to see the next generation enjoy. It's scary knowing how fast life passes us up. Always be thankful for today, and remember every day is a memory, so make it a great memory to be had.
💯
Places closing actually late is nostalgia. I'm currently in a half hour line for the one drive thru place actually opened past midnight for my drink. 😑
It doesn't have to be like this. Vote right.
Honestly, all the things I enjoyed when I was younger have been or are currently being ruined by corporate greed and the pursuit of short-term profits at the expense of the consumer. This is no different.
Would never argue the contrary.
Just went to Six Flags over Georgia this past month and it was a nightmare. I've always gone to my hometown's park Dollywood, and I've been to Carowinds a few times. Carowinds is significantly cleaner, better ran, and the employees didn't seem miserable. SFOG was one of the worst park experiences I've ever had; long waits, rude staff (probably exhausted), bad food, and the bathrooms were disgusting. I felt like I was a RollerCoasterTycoon NPC that had a big frowny face. Also, majority of the coasters at SFOG were closed down. It was clear weather, and about 60 degrees, so I *heavily* doubt it was the weather.
I agree with you. It’s sad what happened to this park. I pretty much grew up going to this park and it is for sure ruined.
but other than that, it was probably the best day of your life, right?
lol jk Ive never been to a six flags so I have no idea.
It's Atlanta what do you expect. Atlanta is a giant hood
That's so unfortunate. I used to finally the time and it wasn't always great but it was definitely not that awful... I really hope it doesn't close forever
Agreed 6flags in GA sucks. I've been to most of the parks in Florida (Disney, Epcot, universal, island of adventure, busch gardens, etc)and six flags was a complete disaster. You can even compare the parks. The ones in FL are far superior overall.
honestly as a 6 flags mm employee its been pretty hard on us. going from working 6 days a week 8-12 hr shifts. to only being open to 4 days… its been difficult for people trying to pay bills. they expect us to be ok working 2-3 days and expect our 100% for $16.50 an hour. but then expect us to be happy go lucky when we have 0 staffing to work the holiday season. then over work us. the company is losing employees. guests. and money.
New ride op is ot and it's been stressful trying to give guests a good experience but I want to operate multiple rides and have more rides that I can suggest to guests reliablly
Question. Did Six Flags used to close later? I see they close at 5 or 6 pm on some days and the latest they close is at 9 pm which is ridiculous! I want to experience all the rides in one day but so little time!
@@onmas909 yeahh honestly the only time we will be open later than 5 in the near future is holiday seasons/holidays….special events or weekends. the park should only be open friday-monday tho when its off season starting a couple weeks back
...that's what happens when wage minimums get hiked up in the service industries...corporate tells managers to hire a lot of people and have them all come in for just a few hours to where it looks good for PR, but gives no real living wage to the people who counted on a wage increase as a comeup..there is absolutely no company loyalty, the employees tend to do drugs in the bathrooms and breakooms, food is spitefully removed from slop buckets and served to customers they have issue with (like law enforcement during the "defund" bullshit) and it reflects in the attitudes of customers, who think nothing now of obliterating the lobbies of service establishments over a lack of ketchup....
I was at one McDonald's in a very small city that had 50 employees and a whole lot of problems and the hours and wage wouldn't cover my rent on a tiny shit apartment...
...most corporations need to get a 7 minute beatdown against a barbed wire fence, figuratively speaking....
Sheeid I flip Pattie’s for 13.50 out here in Missouri
Ride safety is THE most important aspect of these places! It doesn’t matter what the theme or the name of the ride is, if there’s ANY word of a ride being unsafe or maintenance concerns, it’s gonna be ghost town advertised by news stations
ride safety isnt really an issue (assuming they're following proper protocol issued by the ride's manufacturer which i assume they are). you're safer on the rides than you are on your drive to the park, dare i say it may just be one of the safest places to be in the park.
It could become like Action Park in the 80's and 90's. It is considered one of the most dangerous theme parks in the US.
@@GavHern The problem are human mistakes, with less staff and less training, accidents that really shouldn't happen will start popping up :/
@@MaluuhLive the ride kinda operates itself for the most part… the main problem is in maintenance, which has been hit by the staffing issues. to my knowledge, el toro at great adventure is the only ride that has been impacted by this, but that needed some major care to begin with
the apparent lack of ride safety is why I don't find thrill rides thrilling, but genuinely terrifying. and why I don't go on rides that are made to be moved, like at the fair. no thanks I'll ride the batman themed tild a whirl.
Went to six flags for possibly the last time this year. got tickets free from work for me and the wife. We were shocked to find out that parking had been raised to $40 dollars (I think 60 for preferred parking). Inside the park was pretty much empty. I was able to ride every major coaster before lunch (the ones that were open anyway). This was nice since that's the only reason I come to the park, however there was a strange dystopian vibe from the emptiness of the park that made me want to leave as soon as I was done riding the coasters.
I know the feeling. It's sad watching videographers sneak into closed parks. You can hear the kids laughing and playing, so much excitement. The smells, sights and sounds. I'm old and went to at least a couple cirsus' when I was young. There are no more big tops. 😢
40 dollars for parking??? wtf...
Parks like this are in decline in general due to the dwindling middle class. Unfortunate, but true.
@Tee Grizzle Hopefully you're just trolling as this is the internet, but this implies a falsehood and assumes no responsibility on the end of the business owners.
1.) Covid wasn't invented or "created" by anyone, it is a disease type which has new variants pop up occasionally via evolution.
2.) Despite Covid Six Flags has been having difficulties as of late anyway. Even pre covid the parks we're often dirty, unkept and overall with occasional exceptions, not a great experience.
@Tee Grizzle Oh look... a racist.
You can't increase prices if the quality doesn't increase beyond the idea decreasing too much crowd. For some theme park goers, the idea of big crowds also is a psychological boost to show that the park is popular and where they should be.
We have a water park in Phoenix formally called wet n' wild. That is until six flags took over. My family and I had season passes every year. Then comes six flags. It became quite clear that it was all about the money with no regard to the guests. For instance, there used to be a bunch of provided tubes for each ride, then all of the sudden there was almost none. They wanted you to rent their tubes. The last time we went we were there for more than 4 hours and got on 3 slides when we used to get on multiple slides per hour. Needless to say, we quit being season pass owners. The new six flags model is all about the money, and by doing so, they are screwing themselves out of it.
Same ive been going for years with my friends, its taken a major shit lately
“wet n wild” describes my ex
Wet n' wild was never good, though. It was dirty, there were always rides broken or down and it was so hot with little to no shade what so ever. It was one of the most popular and big parks around. Just got from bad to worse really.
@@aperry3869 That's all very true. It always had issues, but it was still worth the money (just barely) until six flags came along.
Wow it feels weird to see someone mention wet n wild. I literally grew up walking distance from it.
It was never great but it did have a nice family friendly vibe. Never too packed and season passes were worth it you could just kill a ton of time starting the day running Kilimanjaro and then chill in the lazy river or some shit.
Once six flags took over the first year was awesome for season passes. After that it was absolute garbage, not even worth the money to go anymore because it's packed and they still want to nickel and dime you to death. They tried to be all fancy and new but that's not what made wet n wild fun. I used to go to the mini train park right next door a lot for funsies too.
Last time I went to one of these parks it just felt… depressing. It felt empty. Felt cheap while being way too expensive.
Leftism!
I just went to SixFlags in San Antonio fright fest. It was bad ass! It was expensive but me and the kids had a blast.
The less people the better honestly no long lines
@@IceInVeins916 that's a fact 💯
This may be something exclusive to me but, part of the fun and excitement of going to a huge park like Six Flags or anything like that is seeing so many other people also being excited to have fun with their friends and family too. It's no wonder his strategy failed. A lot of people probably agree or feel similar. I also vaguely remember the teenage girl getting both her feet severed. So, if rides aren't safe, prices are high, and no ones there, what exactly IS the entire point of going? It would feel depressing just being there, even more so when you get on a roller coaster and no ones there to scream and put their hands up with you.
I just recently cancelled my Diamond Platinum Membership (with Dining) after 5 years. This past summer was the nail in the coffin for me - half the coasters closed, rude/awful employees, terrible food, and overall a very unenjoyable experience. I’d rather just spend the extra $$ and go to Universal Orlando or to Cedar Fair parks.
I did the same at Great Adventure. Cancelled two Diamond Elite Plus and 4 Platinum (with Meal and Drink) after 5 years. They took almost every dining option away during the Summer with only basically nasty chicken tenders and dry pizza. Upcharge for fries. I won't go back unless Salim is out and Spanos hired back. Took my hard earned money and put it to 2023 Hershey Park King Size passes.
@Maddox2021 - Comedy and More Alternate Wow. Why are you so angry? I can fix the post. Did someone hurt your feelings today?😆 Your hair isn't blue and you have a nose ring do you???😆😆😆 Don't worry. The store will be getting more Soy Milk in soon.
@Maddox2021 - Comedy and More Alternate and unless you're the Perfect Human, get off your high horse. I don't mind correction or criticism, it's how it's presented. I'll see myself OUT.
I definitely agree that the food is terrible now. Immediately after I ate it I had stomach problems which also could be my problem but it never happened before.
Same. Cancelled Diamond Platinum Membership that we've had for years. They got rid of my favorite event Holiday in the Park at Great America (Gurnee/Chicago area). That was literally the only time of year I spent in the park. I still have an entire year of free "make-up" months to use in 2023 though.
This makes me cry - I worked at 6F Dallas in 1996 and they had all kinds of shows, mascots walking the grounds, pop-up contests and fun stuff everywhere. Those of us stuck in the caricature booths were so jealous - but this? Oh man …
you had it good
Kids didn’t have phones and went to amusement parks for fun, now it’s not that impressive anymore
@@Labyrinth6000 yes, because phones are so much more exciting than riding roller coasters....
There isn't one in Dallas.
@@backlogbuddies We called it ‘Dallas’ cuz the whole area was a blur to our guests 😁, even tho it’s in Arlington. Fiesta and Astro called us Dallas internally, too.
I wholeheartedly agree with your point about high quality rides not being enough to carry an experience. I visited Great America for the first time this summer and while their coaster lineup is elite; the abhorrent wait times, dirty atmosphere, and rude staff made it one of my least favorite days I've ever had at any park. 2 hours to ride Raging Bull with the flash pass on a Tuesday in June was where I hit my limit.
2hrs for raging bull with the flash pass should be illegal
@@GivzzProductions it felt like a total rip-off.
Elite? You must be sniffing that raging bull pack
Yeah, i'm super sorry to hear that. I guess i was lucky when I went, because the flash pass entrance was the exit for the ride, because it was less busy. The default flash pass pretty much acted like a platinum, so I could ride 5 cycles in a row and that was amazing! I don't think the staff were exceptional, but they were alright. In all, I think it depends on when you go. Sorry to hear about that.
2 hours WITH FLASH PASS dear god
My family of 4 have had a membership to Six Flags for over 7 years. In the beginning we would make the 45 min drive to Magic Mountain about once a month. For a couple of years we even had the food passes for me and my wife that gave you lunch and snack, then dinner and snack at around $80 each for the year. This was great because between the 4 of us we could all eat during each visit and it paid for itself in 2 visits because the price of the food was crazy. Then it just got worse, less options for meals and half of the places you could choose from would be closed. Huge lines to order in the places that are open because there are only 2 of the 8 registers open and 65% of the people in line just want a drink refill.
The heat in CA is really the killing factor for Magic Mountain. It's built in the desert, so you think they would have plenty of shade for the guests that are waiting 1 to 3 hours in line for a ride.. nope! It's just gotten worse, as they build more rides it feels like less thought goes into how they are going to funnel guest to it. Trees and areas that used to be great places to relax and stay cool have been removed and replaced with concrete.
The staff has just gotten bitter it seems over the past few years. They are not taken care of by the company and they pass that distain for their employer directly on to the guest. It's really rare to find anyone working at the park that really cares that the guest are the people that are the reason for their paycheck.
We only go about 2 or 3 times a year now, and it's not during the summer.
Haven't been to Hurricane Harbor in years. It's extremely overcrowded and dirty. The last time we did go we were there for about 5 hours and were only able to ride 2 of the rides, and the lazy river was practically shoulder to shoulder.
It's just not enjoyable anymore. The events that used to be good are now just a money grab. Fright Night used to be fun until they started charging extra for the mazes. The only good thing about it now is being able to ride Tatsu in the dark, if its running, and if it's not a 3 hour wait...
Writing all this out has really made me second guess why I still pay for these passes...
I honestly would rather drive 2 hours to go to Knotts where they still have shows and an atmosphere that feels welcoming, and way better food...
Couldn't have said it better, that is exactly correct. Spot on.
You're from Bakersfield huh
We went to knotts last fall over six flags. The roses looked scary/unsafe from a distance. Knotts definitely still has that family entertainment atmosphere
Since they've stopped offering new memberships, if you cancel the ones you have, they're gone forever. So there's that. They do still honor the ones they sold in the past, with all the benefits. So if they can survive to the next CEO, or get bought out, maybe things will change for the better.
They need an advisory committee made up of guests who are local to each park, that makes suggestions applicable to that park. Ideally, it would be made up of people who, like those of us commenting on this video, have been going to the park for a long time and remember what it was like in the "good old days". At least one member of the board of directors should attend each committee meeting, along with that local park's management, so that they too can learn what each park's truest fans find important.
Over Texas seemed to be heading in that direction with "The Pirates of Speelunker Cave" but though it just opened this past year, it was closed when we went to Holiday in the Park so I still haven't gotten to ride it.
@@yourenotthere I know this is kind of off-topic, but I feel like after Covid the whole Six Flags chain has went downhill.
Just hilarious to hear the CEO blame gas prices and inclement weather. As of the other theme parks exist in an alternate dimension with teleportation and an absence of weather. When leaders can’t admit they’re wrong, people suffer.
I'm surprised you never mentioned how he was "sick and tired of Six Flags being a cheap daycare for teenagers."
@Master General girl what
@@angelzuniga3339 ignore them, conservatives do this on any video
@Master General fucking bigot chud. Your grandchildren will be brown and trans.
@@DDub04 FJB
@@DDub04Bring politics in stuff that was never political
This makes me so sad. I grew up getting season passes to Six Flags Over Texas every summer and always having an amazing time. Since leaving the DFW area over 10 years ago I always talk about wanting to to back since I haven’t been since leaving the area. I had no idea how much conditions had deteriorated. Truly depressing.
Dallas-Fort Worth
@@jasoncutshaw8401 Yes
The fear of death just amplifies the thrill
@@jasoncutshaw8401 yes that’s what DFW stands for…
I'm from Travis Tx so yeah lol
I spent $325 with my kids to attend Great Adventures this year. What I saw since I last visited back in 2016 was the park was mostly the same and less value. New rides were boring or not interesting at all. It had become a teenager hangout place and most of the value is pushed towards paying for meal plans instead of building on the park’s experience. We won’t be back again unless a major upgrade to their theme experience.
So you wouldn't suggest going then? Thought of going next summer.
2 Words: BAD MANAGEMENT!! I live in Houston and Six Flags owned Astroworld which had been here since 1965. The management closed down the park in 2005 and told everyone that the land was more valuable than the use as an amusement park. Really, so they tore it down and now 17 years later there sits the vacant land. Good management would have tried to keep a park open in a metro area like Houston (over 5 million people and growing. Disgusting! And you know what several parks have opened here since they pulled out and these new parks are doing fine crowds and profits....
this is insane because I've never even heard of Cedar Fair and they're destroying Six Flags
That's because other than the initial park, Cedar Point, none of them have Cedar in the name. Cedar Park grew by acquiring other amusement parks, including the Paramount parks. They own parks like Knott's Berry Farm, King's Dominion, California's Great America, King's Island, etc.
@@xungnham1388 oh yeah Knott's is WAY better than Six Flags lmao
Never heard of Cedar Point? They have Millenium Force, which was the tallest and fastest rollercoaster in the world at the time it was built.
@@xungnham1388 They also own smaller regional parks, like Valleyfair in the Twin Cities.
@@xungnham1388 knotts berry farm sucks D: thats the only one ive heard of/ been too
My wife and I went to SFOT by ourselves last week because our 11 year old didn’t want to go. He said the lines suck and the rides aren’t very good anymore. We experienced a dirty park, rude staff and long lines. We definitely aren’t going back. Ever.
Oh boy that’s sad :(
@Maddox2021 - Comedy and More Alternate I didn’t even go to places like that growing up because I couldn’t afford it. They don’t have to go anywhere
tmw an 11yo doesn't want to go to an amusement park. Yup, the end times are coming for that park.
Awww that's so sad how far the OG has fallen. I've only been there once way back in 1997 and it was an amazing experience for me personally (I was 15). Breaks my heart to hear there.
We got to SFOT when it’s hot. That alone makes the experience miserable lol.
"Rides bring people in and beautification gets them to come back."
Definitely true. It's one of the reasons Six Flags Ohio failed. They added 6 new coasters in 2 years, but spent no effort on improving the in park experience. That's why total guests increased the first year or two, but then took a nose dive. All the out of towners came, saw how badly run it was, and did not come back.
And we all know how that worked out for Geauga Lake.
@@scottnelson9 They NEVER came back.
Maybe it’s because I grew up at Hershey, but Hershey park is still one of the greatest singular parks I’ve ever seen, I’d love if you ever did a video on how well it preforms, the shows, the rides, the friendly atmosphere, the Halloween and Christmas stuff they have.
I love Hershey: Clean, well managed, cute.
I went to Hershey once and loved it
The Six Flags company is literally Six Flags New Orleans right now, abandoned
Honestly yeah. Disaster strikes and now the future of the parks is in a state of limbo.
@maddox121 As a Kentucky girl who grew up in Louisville, went to KK more times than I could count, and LOVED that park with all my heart, I was SO glad to see Sucks Flags go!! They gutted the quality of the park, and did us really dirty when they left. Good riddance. Thankfully, Kentucky Kingdom is now open again, under new management and thriving!
As someone who used to work there (four years to be exact across two departments at Six Flags New England), the primary issue about Six Flags are the following:
1.) They max out their occupancy as much as possible, creating a gross, sweaty and nasty miserable experience which ruins any "bargan" price they think they have.
2.) They do nothing but cut costs and raise prices, they're always looking for cheaper ingredients, materials, labor and giving the guest less and less for the same or higher price, on top of NEVER upgrading any of the equipment, on top of reducing maintenance leaving the parks dirty and worn down
Note: I'm ok with older equipment, but like anything it needs to be maintained which they don't do, so little to no maintenance and never replaced
3.) Employees are treated like shit.
Example One: we couldn't clock in while getting make up done for acting or until we were at our kitchen location despite needing to walk across the park which often takes fifteen to thirty minutes depending on how busy it was, and before we left our kitchen or acting station we also had to clock out, meaning a half hour to an hour of your time could be spent at the park while not being paid, though while you were still on the premises you were expected to help guests, even if you're on break and you work the entire time helping a guest it still counts as your break!
Example Two: They refused to take care of the Employee Parking lot which was made of dirt and due to poor maintenance, it was not uncommon for employee's cars to get damaged getting in and out due to potholes, rocks, broken glass, etc and no way to report or be compensated for said damage
Note: there was a lawsuit against them not too long ago about the stolen time and our compensation was $23.00 when they inevitably lost the suit, I worked there every weekend during fall and all week during the summer for four years, so even when giving them the benefit of the doubt, at the very least they stole
(40 days * 2 for walking in and out) = 80 * .25(15 minutes quarter of an hour spent walking through the park before and after clocking in to get in and out) = 20 hours for summer
(16 days * 2) = 32 * .25 = 8 hours, so 28 hours a year, four years = 112
112 UNPAID HOURS, not even including when we'd be forced to stay late after clocking out or get threatened of being fired, which (minimum wage was 9.00/hour at that time) results in $1008.00 being stolen from high school me. So yeah, its more cost effective for them to be douchebags unfortunately. Hopefully they changed this by now, but I doubt it.
My advice to anyone thinking of working at SFNE, unless they fixed the issues I listed above, don't work there. They'll treat you like shit, rob you of time you should be on break or paid for, work you like a dog, and right you up when they don't call you in but wanted you in and then you have to prove they're wrong and it takes three weeks robbing you of working for the season to save up for college or a laptop.
Damn that’s crazy I go to the one in Mass all the time. Sorry to hear
But .. but... Disney is also overcrowded, sweaty affair for like 5 times as much per ticket.
It's strange that I've seen almost identical issues at my job...but I don't work at a theme park.
But the more I hear about similar things from peers from _various_ backgrounds, the more I honestly think this is a corporate and generational issue, not the job itself
@@13Kr4zYAzN13 I think that with regards to amusement parks...... What happened was this - at the inception, apparently, they were targeted for middle class. To put it bluntly white middle class families. Since then that middle class evaporated. It looks like either tickets are way too affordable or there are some discount programs for financially challenged families of which I do not know. I believe I paid in excess or $100 per person to visit Disney World on a week day in August 2018. It was jam-packed and lines were atrocious. With August Florida heat it was something opposite of fun. We left in the middle of the day to re-enter closer to firework time and then dashed for the space mountain. Still spent about 30 minutes in the line. There is something wrong with this business. Too many people. I find $100/day ticket price to be outrageous. So I do not know how much it should cost to keep the crowds low. I certainly would not pay that price.
As for 6 Flags. In Chicago I had a very reasonably priced season pass and also would visit on weekday. No crowds. It did look a bit run down, but most of the rides worked and we did not have to wait in line for more than 15 minutes.
Frankly I consider 6 Flags to be a much better deal - you get straight to business, the rides and that is. In Disney World there is all this "atmosphere" that you have to "soak in". And I am not sure that kids these days even connect to all this Cinderella & Mickey Mouse thing and much of the old themed stuff.
I worked at SFNE too, I can back this up - don't forget that they make us work 12 hours shifts and only give us 1 day off basically _ever._ Screw this company. Smh.
Ive always loved six flags, its so sad to see this happen. Why can’t rich people just let poor people have things? Six flags is a great amusement park, and there isnt anything wrong with being marketed towards people who can’t afford disneyland, I’ve been a loyal attendee of six flags since I was 6 lol, but I can’t afford to go anymore and I used to try to go a couple times a year. I went to six flags for my 8th grade field trip, for many birthdays and friends birthdays, and many other celebrations. I love roller coasters, so really, if six flags isnt the affordable option with an exhilarating experience anymore, I’ll go somewhere else. It seems like everyone else will too.
The world unfortunately has to get more expensive with inflation
You should ridd gocarts, I think it's the perfect budget family activity. Alot of local places are really cheap, like bochertown, MO.
@@surkey5055 how u gonna compare go karts to a whole amusement park? Stop
@@mikosue8694 hey I'm just tryna be nice.
@@MrPandito inflation is being manufactured by the rich
Went to Six Flags over Texas as a kid in the early 2000s. Easily my favorite theme park experience to this date. Going to theme and amusement parks nowadays just don’t compare to that golden age of Six Flags
Agreed 👍🏾
It is nothing like the experience I had growing up. Back then (1995-2005ish) it was a shock to see a ride closed. The food was good to decent, the rides worked, the live shows were operating routinely, and it was literally an overall experience. Took my sons back in 2019 before the Covid crash and the live shows was minimum to none, half of the good rides were closed and the train that goes around the park was not functioning. The only thing that made the experience ok was the kid world, in which my boys enjoyed. It sad to see SFOG go downhill like this. 🤦🏿♂️
Agreed, their parks are old, dirty, and dilapidated. It's obvious that they haven't put anything into maintenance or upkeep since the late 90's.
@F.u.c.k You DA DA DA DA DA DA-DA, DA DA DA DA DA DA-DA......
Same here. That’s the park we went to every year with passes. It sucks now
Raising the price without improving the product only worked before the internet existed. Now people can see photos, videos, and reviews detailing why the new price isn't worth it and make the choice to stay away *before* spending their money.
I went in October and it was horrible. Half the rides were closed, there were like 2 employees and while i didnt have wait times i missed the park being full and lively. I like low ride waits but not at the cost of making the place feel dead
This past October? Never been there. I mostly stick to Hershey and Dorney
Do they still blast the Vengaboys song all day long with a mostly empty park?
This is what happens when your view of the business is based upon a spreadsheet and earnings report. You need to understand the wants and desires of your customers and deliver that at a reasonable price…a truly dying concept these days.
Saving Six Flags isn't even hard. It bothers me that they bring in these CEOs who can't figure this out, when someone like me can.
It's so simple: stop focusing on only THRILLS and start building out EXPERIENCES. make Six Flags a place where people actually want to come and spend the entire day.
More/Better shows, WAY better meet and greets, experiential landscaping, cohesive design, and merchandise that people actually WANT to buy and wear. Rebrand. Let's go.
I just finished my final days working at Six Flags MM, and god do they treat us like trash. I worked in food and beverage. I hated being in those buildings, they were disgusting. The food is all frozen(obviously), but prepping it after it being defrosted is one of the grossest things I’ve ever done. My leads and supervisors are all 19-20 year olds who just like to order everyone around even tho leads make $0.25 more than regular team members. Also they never do anything to make the working conditions safer or cleaner. There were 3 rats living in the break area, nothing ever happened despite constant complains, and I can’t tell you how many times a day I almost slipped and cracked my head open. HR begged me to stay after I handed in my two weeks, they personally called my building, to come down to them to beg me to stay, obviously I told them no. Don’t go to six flags it’s a waste of money. And their employees are treated like trash
I quit on the first day because of an extreme lack of communication in F&B
Rats? Eww! You need to report that to the health department!
That's so sad! They need a complete overhaul.
Disgusting.
That’s depressing and gross.
I think the biggest issue with Six Flags is that at the end of the day, it's an amusement park heavily geared towards rollercoaster fans and adrenaline junkies. This is a niche product that is in a genre that NEEDS constant attendance. Worse is that it essentially locks away a major demographic these products need, families, children, and people who aren't adrenaline junkies/rollercoaster fans. That means Six Flags locked out a major chunk of revenue and essentially can't charge as much as, say, Universal, Disney, Knotts, etc. So yeah, since the parks decided to remain focused on it's niche, it needed to do a lot more than just have rollercoasters to keep people coming back on a regular basis.
I was just thinking this. My family went to Six Flags a lot when i was a kid because my mom got free (or discounted, i don't remember) tickets from her job. I was the youngest and Soft(TM) so i largely prefered the baby rides and the calmer rides. I started to enjoy the coasters more as i got older, but i never became an enthusiast so i've never had the desire to return to (and pay for) the park as an adult.
When i think of walking around my local six flags, i just remember the big flat concrete walkway. Having stone or brick walkways would do wonders for the atmosphere, especially if they added more green spaces.
Six Flags isn’t meant to be like Disney or Universal, it’s meant to be all about the rollercoasters and if Six Flags drifts away from that aspect of their parks, it’s gonna die! First Toys R Us, now Six Flags!
@@wanderer34 I know it's not, but you ignored that I stated that because it's geared heavily towards a very niche crowd, it's never gonna be that successful unless they drastically change it to be more appealing to families (meaning far less thrill rides and more family oriented attractions that everyone can enjoy). You're not gonna get anywhere close to the numbers Disney and Universal has, ESPECIALLY if you raise the prices on something that is not an experience, but what is essentially cheap thrills. The owners of Six Flags are ignoring this and in turn are gonna lead Six Flags to shut down because they're just not gonna be able to get the amount of guests needed to make it even slightly successful.
In the 90s and early 2000s six flags St Louis was always packed. They had a new water park right when every other small park had closed. They had 3 new DC themed rides(superman, batman, joker) one of which had a mirror clone at universal Orlando. There were rock climbing walls tucked between rides, old west style storefronts where you could dress up and get pictures taken, an amphitheatre where at least 6 shows played daily and outside acts performed regularly. Every area had flavor actors but the medieval area was always packed with extras doing a year round ren-fair. At Halloween hundreds of extras would be hired and haunted houses would open up that smashed every local competitor. Some rides did date back to the 40s but they were well-maintained and people around here loved having older and smaller rides between the new and huge coasters. Kids and adults had plenty to choose from and there was also a kid specific area on top of the rides that were just out of date. At Christmas they sponsored a nearby campsite partner to put up an insane drive-thru light display. They would showcase cutting edge VR technology in huge plazas with 50 plus seats and headsets in addition to having one off machines on the departure walkways for rides. The train could actually be used to navigate the park because it was just so big that people needed the break, but it'd also take you to areas that couldn't be seen on foot that had unique narratives.
Now when you go most of that is shut down. There are no extras, no random actors spouting area appropriate dialogue. No small attractions squirrelled away between rides. Nothing. Six flags St Louis was a small city in its own right. Now it's almost dead.
In the past ten years local haunted houses have far surpassed six flags in effort and execution so the old tradition of everyone going to six flags and seeing people they knew is gone. There's a dozen better, cheaper, closer options. And almost everyone over 30 working at those outside haunted houses used to work six flags, at the very least for Halloween. Even some owners got their start there.
What hurt me, and lots of other people I've spoken to, was the loss of iconic and even historic rides at the park. Those things tied generations together and now they're gone, the continuity broken.
For a couple months I worked at a machine shop in eureka, right next to the park. Some days it was still busy and afternoon traffic was a nightmare but most days I couldn't hear any rides running or any water splashing or kids yelling. It was sad and it hurt.
That place was an amusement park well before six flags came along so I hope when they fold someone local picks it up again and treats it right. Everyone in St Louis would come right back. Maybe one day soon...
I grew up going to six flags st. Louis. And I couldn't agree more. Everything that gave it character was removed in the early 2000s to make room for something that could make money. Fake Western storefronts that gave the place atmosphere were removed and food stands put in their place. Places to sit and rest in the shade were replaces with things like vending machines and snack stands. Attractions that weren't rides or food were gone, even if they made money. The park could make more money selling soda in those spots.
Last time I went I paid 6$ for a warm cup of soda bc they were out of ice and I waited 20 mins in the sun for it. And I've never gone back.
We all know these places exist to separate you from your money but there is no value to Six Flags anymore.
Very well written! As a child of the 80's, Six Flags was a yearly excursion for myself, my sister and my parents, up until my younger brothers were born. I miss all of those classic rides, like Jet Scream, Hannibarrels, Tom's Twister, Mo-MO The Monster, the too-short-lived Condor and probably several others I can't think of at the moment. And my favorite part of every excursion was getting a three-scoop ice cream cone from that First Cone place located near the front of the park. The last time I went to Six Flags was way back in 2004, and it was a very forgettable experience. I'm 43 now, and I often daydream about going back and maybe recapturing some of that old childhood magic, but too any changes in the park keep making me consider otherwise.
I worked at six flags st Louis a year before the pandemic and it was brutal. Rare days it would be packed and the rest id barely see 100. Pay was shit, they’d force me to stay over hours, management was all teens or early 20 somethings
I went to this park a ton through the 90’s and early 2000’s. It used to be packed. We went for the first time in several years this past weekend and I was amazed walking through the extremely long queue for the Boss and remembering how that line was packed with people for a very long time. We were able to walk right up and get on without a wait. I’m not complaining of course. It was nice being able to get right on every ride, but walking those extremely long queues, was part annoying/part depressing, thinking how they used to actually need them like that.
I grew up going to this park, I still miss the Scooby Doo ride.
My bf and I love Six Flags so much, being our first date 7 years ago (high school sweethearts). We had the Diamond Elite membership 2018-2019 and let me tell you, the discounts on merchandise and food had me buying things I didn't need. That was peak of the potential for Six Flags. The park was FULL. I still have like 15 SF hoodies in my closet. For our anniversary this year, I purchased the 2023 Diamond Pass and Platinum Season FastPass for ourselves ($1k in total). This is not only a huge price jump from pre-pandemic times, but the perks themselves fall short. They even put a ONE-time use per visit of the FastPass for certain rides!
This CEO's plan will destroy SF. I just hope it falls apart after 2023 so our passes don't go out in vain :(((
That was exactly my experience! I loved taking my wife and kids and then all of a sudden they gutted the whole system. Rewards suck now.
You paid $1000??? For 1 season pass???
@@patrapper7367 Some people have more money than sense.
What a waste of your money
Key example is killing the meal plans.
Cedar Fair by far is just better at managing their parks and just overall bringing a better guest experience to their parks. Plus, all their huge parks: Cedar Point, Kings Island, Carowinds, Canada's Wonderland, and Knotts' Berry Farm are all profit makers for them, and those parks do exceptionally well. Heck, Knotts' Berry Farm does over 6 million guests annually and Canada's Wonderland is the 2nd most visited at around 3.96 million (2019 figures). So clearly, Cedar Fair is smarter with their business strategies and money, and they are conservative when they need to be. So it's no wonder why their stock price is higher, they're able to gain more income from less parks, and that their attendance numbers are just going up way more.
Totally agree. They struggled in 2021, but have bounced back tremendously this year. They did this even while the revenue from Canada’s Wonderland was being slashed due the current weakness of the Canadian dollar vs the US dollar.
Agreed. Even with that security problem Knott's had, that park has been looking up and up.
@@AttractionIdeas I don't want Six Flags to go away completely, but looking at the bigger picture, I can't really see myself wanting to visit a Six Flags park. Like why visit Six Flags Magic Mountain and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, over like California's Great America or Knotts' Berry Farm, despite Magic Mountain having great rides.
@@TonyKimtheamusementparkfan Knott's during the off season. That park has horrible capacity when busy.
@WhenTheChipsAreDown Honestly without Dragster Magic Mountain has the better lineup. No other cedar fair can even start to touch their lineup
I remember seeing Six Flags over Texas decline in real-time. Every time I go there it just looks worse and worse. It makes me really sad, especially when I hear my mom talk about when the park was new and she used to go with her family.
I haven't been to SFOT since '04. Even back then you could see the beginnings of wear, tear and neglect. I can only imagine what it's like now.
I went a week ago. It’s really really sad. Ride lines were non existent, yes, but everything else was kinda just upsetting.
Not to mention how BAD the roller coasters looked at night. It’s just run down. Prioritizing a bunch of useless things.
I lived in Arlington in 1994 and went to SFOT a few times and enjoyed it. I would hate to see it now, based on this and others’ comments. 🎢☹️
Yeah I remember they came out with the new Harley Quinn ride six Flags Arlington, and like not even a year later they shut it down permanently. Got to ride it once and it was sick
This is so crazy, I used to go to Six Flags Magic Mountain in L.A. and it was awesome when I was a kid (late 80s and early 90s) and I loved it. I worked at that same park later on in my early 20’s as a roller coaster mechanic and I loved that job. The amount of back systems that are in place for safety (at least at Magic Mountain) was incredible, lots of extra safety systems in place.
I wish this video would have mentioned more about food quality as part of the experience impact. This is another big reason why people love Disney.
Disney’s biggest victory is their name brand. They have brain washed buyers who still haven’t learned. Disney has declined heavily since 2015. The better experiences right now with high caliber staff, food, and rides are parks like Dollywood and Universal Orlando in my opinion.
lol Seriously? The food was about as good a what you get a Country Buffet or Golden Corral. ...Actually that's kind of offensive to Country Buffet and Golden Corral. It's far worse. It's more like the stuff at any buffet that's been under the heat lamps all day drying out but 10x the price. And why people especially adult love Disney is beyond me. It's one of the worst companies out there yet its fans turn a blind eye to how horrible the are.
@Maddox2021 - Comedy and More Alternate Iger is the one who turned Disney into the corporate demon it is today.
Food quality was garbage at Cedar Point the time I went. Even the Cinnabon was stale. The chicken strips were subpar, but still edible I guess. Big money for garbge. These parks need to focus more on easier stuff to manage like hot dogs. Hot dogs are extremely easy and the best park food you can have. Put hot dog stands at every friggin intersection and ride location in the park and watch the money flow. Most people just want good tasting nourishment and hot dogs provide that. Cheap to buy, cheap to cook and maintain freshness and good profits and most everyone likes a good hot dog. Easy to carry and eat while walking. Forgot all the pizza and chicken and fish and all that other nonsense that is 10x the effort to cook and maintain.
this is the truth, 9 times outta 10 me and the boys are hitting up the McDonald’s or dennys by magic mountain, but I’ll go to knotts all the time just for the food
Sad.. I’ve lived in Arlington my whole life and it’s sad watching a place I spent so much time as a child/teen just completely go to trash. Back in the 90s six flags was everything! Clean up the parks, keep up with the maintenance, and fix the horrible food!!
Yeah, put some shade and refreshment entertainment stands in between the long walks to the rides.
I went to that location last year and it seemed like it was in the same condition it’s always been. 🤷🏻♂️ My issue though is the long waits for the rides. We even bought a speed pass and it still was a long wait, not to mention the inconvenience of having to schedule your rides from the speed pass. The problem is DFW metro is growing fast, but the park remains the same size. And there are no real competitors.
I agree I specifically go for the turkey leg an this year I bought my son and I passed we went twice and the turkey leg tasted like Gelatin 🤮
I live in Dallas, you can’t fix 6 flags . It’s disgusting 🤢
@@lastname-Nm Man aint that the truth. I remember when the Wild Waves up here in WA did just that, it was Enchanted Village on one side and Wild Waves on another. PERFECT park. THEN came the buyout of Six Flags. DOWNHILL from there. Will be sad if the entire park closes... It is definitely not the same, the upkeep and cleanliness is definitely something that should alone be addressed..
That’s why Hershey park was always magical when I was younger. I lived an hour away and went all the time with my parents and sister. The rides were a main attraction but looking back on it the best part was the amazing park itself, so so many different things to do. As a 21 year old I would 100% still go with friends, it’s a great place.
I’m from Philly currently in Atlanta and I agree…I miss the whole Lancaster area too
That's because Hershey personifies the phrase "Jack of all trades, master of none." but it also has the advantage of being privately owned and using its brand.
Cedar Point
I agrée! We went to Hershey Park for the first time this last summer. It was a fantastic introduction to roller coasters for my 11 year old daughter. Clean, good food and very well maintained.
Was there last week and i have no complaints
I grew up going to Six Flags in Eureka MO. In the '70's and '80's it was kind of a big deal. They had a nice amphitheater where I saw Jerry Lee Lewis, Merle Haggard and Blue Oyster Cult. The year they opened The Screamin' Eagle, a rollercoaster with a drop of significant depth, we waited in line for 90 minutes to ride that thing. Good times.
hard to beat Screaming Eagle
Living 30 minutes away from Six Flags Over Texas, it was a STAPLE for my childhood. Birthdays, holidays, basically any excuse my parents could make so we could go. You used to be able to bring coke cans to the park for discounts on tickets, and there were times when I would just stand in the glass making shop for hours just watching them make the little glass figures while my sister would stand in line for rides I didn't like.
I haven't gone back in years because of the prices. We drove by a few days ago and I watched as one of the roller coasters went by only carrying 3 or 4 people. It's pretty depressing to see something from my childhood just slowly die like this.
Sad times
Me and my family went to Six flags over texas a few years back while vacationing in Texas: it was a good time that was cut short. But got on the big rides which was nice
We went about a month ago. Half the rides were closed, but it was nice to get on all the open coasters really fast. They also found my wallet under one of the coasters and called me the next day to let me know. Nice employees, but sad to see them not get the what they deserve, i.e. better rides, etc.
I remember Six Flags Astroworld fondly, the only thing that remains standing is the bridge that goes over the 610 loop. Especially since in junior high the entire school used to go once a year. Given it closed in 2005, the only thing that really comes to mind in those last few years is the lack of maintenance and the impression that it became a giant glorified weekend daycare rather than an amusement park.
Lots of gang activity too. It just wasn't a safe place. Astroworld was the absolute best six flags park too!! Probably because it wasn't originally a 6 flags park it was originally family owned and they nailed all the fun themed stuff. I was born in the 80s and grew up in the 90s so Astroworld was everything back then! Man, I miss that place. 6 flags has screwed up so much.
Astroworld in Houston, TX was awesome back in the 80s and 90s when I was a kid. Fun place. Sad when it closed. Many fun times there. Wish it was still there and going.
@@kaylinklimple2167 the new Astroworld just has a bunch kids dying from walking on one another
About a month ago I went to Six Flags and immediately went on a rollercoaster which broke down mid-ride. Naturally, this was an unsettling experience. When I spoke to a manager about my concerns, they were very condescending and unempathetic. They literally said "I can't account for your feelings". I left feeling 3 inches tall. This place is nowhere near where it used to be and I can definitely see it's going down hill.
Sounds like a toxic work environment. Employees are barely being payed if at all, I assume. They're the kinds to say "I'm sorry you feel that way." That phrase is almost always an indicator of a toxic relationship.
Ok, explain to me how thats "unsettling"
Since there's far more unsettling things than a ride breaking down temporarily
The issue is that they are tired of hearing it. Every F'n person at the park believes their opinion is unique and important and needs to be heard and you can bet it's neither unique and certainly not important at the time. The employee working on the ride isn't at fault, they can't do a damn F'n thing for you at the time. Their only concern is getting people off safely and getting the ride back up and running for all the other people still waiting. Your self important complaint is irrelevant to all their other current duties at the time and only serves to slow progress down. If you have a complaint, take it to the offices where there are legit people there to take down your complaint.
actually if i remember correctly, supervisors are encouraged to offer a courtesy pass to anyone on a ride when it breaks down, but that depends on how bad the incident was. So technically some customer concerns of that type are their concern. not that I'd expect them to actually care about and adhere to that tho
@@hughjanus7589 No, it's not the concern of anyone currently working at the ride whose duty is to get the ride functional again. They don't have time to listen to everyone complain, that's what the office is for.
Glad I learned this. I stopped going to six flags because I couldn’t even get into the park because the lot was literally overflowing into the streets. I hope it stays like this so I can actually get on more than 2 rides a trip without getting frustrated with the waits
Just goes to show that the CEO position is becoming more and more useless. Totally out of touch individuals ruining entire companies
This guy is such an idiot at such a high level of incompetence that if I was that board of directors I would make sure he could never become a ceo of any other company ever again in his life because that's how dangerously stupid he is.
On the contrary it shows how important it is
@@TonyTheTender Nah,shows how much less importance they should be allowed to have when one idiot just obliterates an entire business.
Would you be down for co-opting amusement parks?
@@ffwast well, you either lead by executive or committee, and the history of business is that committees suck at developing comprehensive strategies in actionable time frames - and we won’t even get into lack of performance ownership. You need someone with solid experience and have their personal compensation be high stakes for the decisions they make to ensure focus and accountability. It’s not like in the past few hundred years alternative approaches weren’t tried.
Six Flags was a staple of my childhood summers. At some point in the last decade I came to the realization that theme parks, with perhaps the exception of Disneyland/world, are not the same anymore. I haven't been to a theme park since 2014 and I don't think I'd ever be able to trust that I wouldn't die on some malfunctioning coaster due to the way corporations run their businesses nowadays cutting corners on costs and no longer valuing or prioritizing safety, despite what they tell the public. I worked at a Macy's in a large city mall for about 4 years before the pandemic, and I was constantly witnessing and experiencing safety hazards just trying to do my job. We had monthly safety meetings and my observations and concerns on things that needed to get fixed or replaced were constantly put on the back burner. They don't care about workers OR customers anymore.
Magic mountain was what I grew up on
Macy’s is such a corrupt and greedy company, I’m so glad that they’re failing. When I worked there they fired a pregnant mother of 2 when her husband got in a car accident because she couldn’t work on Black Friday, since she had to look after their kids while he was in the ER. At that time, working a 10 hour shift on Black Friday was mandatory for every employee in the store. I’ll never forget that.
Wow! What a shame they've let these park go to waste.
Have you not seen the TH-cam reviews on how Disney parks also going downhill?
That's my fear, as well! After that teenaged boy just feel out of the seat of a roller coaster, last year & died! I'm terrified to go on any of those rusty, malfunctioning rides.
It's almost as if promising a higher tier experience, but only delivering on the price increase.... doesn't work??!! Waaaaa???!!!
I can't help but think that a large part of the hit was because we experienced a MISERABLE summer here in Texas from June through September.
👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
110 degree average
Guest experience is really what’s killing them as a company. I was a season ticket holder for years but had an experience so bad I don’t feel safe going back.
Back in 2018 me and my son went to six flags America and they were having issues checking visitors into the park. We stood outside of the gates for an hour and a half, once we finally got inside they had to shut down the water park. Everyone in the park rushed for the drink stands all at once. My son who was only 3 ended up passing out, I started crying and panicking and no employees helped at all, I had the push him in his stroller all the way across the park to the first aid center.
Tf you talking about?
What does this have to do with six flags lol
Don't even get me going about the lack of care from the staff for injured people at the park!
Bunch of boomers in here most definitely
Let’s just be honest. Six Flags is ghetto now because of the demographics of its guests.
I went to Six Flags Over Georgia for the first time in 5 years over the summer and holy hell has that park gone downhill. Almost all of the employees I encountered were rude teenagers who clearly didn't want to be there and didn't give a flying fuck about their jobs. Me and my brother had a hard time getting fastened in for one of the rides and the people riding with us were more helpful than the actual employees. I know what it's like to be young working minimum wage, believe me i know - it sucks absolute ASS, but I don't remember any of the employees being as blatantly rude as they were when I was younger. Not to mention a very good portion of the rides were closed. Such a shame to see how downhill these parks have gone.
Edit: Yesterday I saw a headline about how SFOG apparently had at least 5 fights break out in the park on opening day. One of the fights apparently involved huge groups of teenagers going at it. You would've never heard about this happening just 5 years ago.. it literally crushes my heart to think about how far downhill Six Flags has gone. What used to be one of my favorite places to go as a kid that I looked forward to all year long has turned into basically a wasteland.
I think things have gotten even worse for minimum wage employees, regardless of whenever you were last stuck in that position (at which point it was probably already pretty bad). Inflation and cost of living keeps going up and up, while minimum wage barely budges. You go deeper and deeper into debt while being scolded for not having "passion" for your work, or from not being "loyal" to the company screwing you over. And it sounds like Six Flags treat their employees even worse than average, and effectively steal their already paltry wages by forcing them to work through "breaks" and not letting them bill for time spent doing things like getting into the park or putting on makeup.
No wonder the customer service is terrible - they're probably barely holding themselves back from strangling the closest person they can reach.
Yep. I live 30 mins away
SF over GA is known as a drop off babysitter for local kids - the staff doesn't care because they are teens and it's generally just a dangerous park of kids gone wild because there is no true security. I live 30 min away and would travel to Disney / Universal, etc. for the sole purpose of feeling safe and that we could have family fun for the money spent. SF could offer MAJOR discount passes and I would ----- PASS!
@@yambone635 this. It's not just wages, but workers are being squeezed for more and more labor with less and less relief, ever increasing expectations, and a public full of nasty, entitled boomers and genxrs
You get the employees you pay for.
SFA is my home park. I've been filling out surveys for years saying a fresh coat of paint is long over due, but nothing. So after 8yrs of being a passholders my family of 4 have opted out. First factor was the discontinuation of the lunch, dinner, snack dining pass. The food sucks, I'm not paying more! Second is that the park still needs a paint job. The final straw was cutting the water park out of the season pass. There is not enough to do at the park to make it worth the upgrade price for the water park inclusion.
Seems like SF has been declining for years now. I’ll never forget they they did to AstroWorld. It’s heartbreaking, a lot of my childhood, especially late teen years, was spent at SF busy they can’t seem to get out of their own way.
I would say be careful about getting sued for defamation, but the dead cant sue and by god you killed him. Spot on with everything you are saying with recipts to boot. Wonderful video!
Correct me if I'm wrong,. But if everything he says is true, it's not defamation?
@@sliedogg Some of it's still speculative. Even if they could prove some of what he said is untrue, they would also have to prove that he had malicious intent. So no, he's in no danger, it would cost them more than they could get out of it anyway.
I clicked on this video lookin for some fun information and what I got was first class analysis and insight and a hell of a pipe bomb promo on the CEO of Six Flags. Well done my friend. As a financial professional and a fan of good hard commentary, this was absolutely awesome.
My parents actually met while working at Six Flags Over Texas, so I owe my very existence in part to that park. We went there all the time as kids, and it was always magical to me, especially given how important it is to our family history. Seeing it now almost makes me want to cry with how far it's fallen. I love that park, and I really hope that they can pull through and become something amazing again.
The video is actually recording six flags over texas
@@santiagofuentes6424 I noticed that, and it made me feel really nostalgic!
@@dragongirl2319 it was nice seeing six flags again I used to go there every weekend during summer
Trust me you would of been born regardless of six flags lol
@@Babyduzzitwhy you say that
Worth noting that this year, many parks in the system heavily released their Full-Time staff and supervisors. People with sometimes decades of experience in the parks. Even if somehow the parks rebound spontaneously? The service and staffing will be years behind recovering in experience and quality.
Six Flags: Would you like it if we offered the exact same experience but doubled the cost?
Regular customers: ...No?
My sister got a job performing at SF over Georgia so I went to support her and it was just insane how much stuff was just still standing there empty. Splash water Falls was torn down, so the entire area was an overgrown O shaped pool. Half the stores and restaurants felt like they weren’t open. Sky Buckets were closed (massive rest in peace 💔 ).
Just a completely different and bad energy imo
They been closed and you probably went on a dead day
@Maddox2021 - Comedy and More Alternate I think they’re at great adventure now for there skyway I believe
TBF SFOG is honestly a rather weak park. I live about two hours from it and have gone numerous times and each successive visit just felt worse and worse.
I went to Holiday in the Park last year and I was really disappointed how SFOG looks. It's nothing like how it was when I went nearly every other week as a child.
@Maddox2021 - Comedy and More Alternate North of Atlanta. I'm about an hour and half away from a far more superior park: Dollywood, which i highly recommend!!
I used to love Six Flags. I grew up begging my parents to take me every summer. But as time went on, I don't know if it's me getting older or if people have always been obnoxious. But either way, the obnoxious and entitled crowds got me. I remember standing in line one for a roller coaster, and having this woman behind me scream directly in my ear as she yelled for her friend up ahead. People would also cut in line, insisting they were meeting up with their group who just so happened to be wayy at the very front. Not only were people annoying as f to deal with, but the pricing ...The price to park your car alone was outrageous!!! It's a parking lot, not a bridge that needs to be maintained or else it'll collapse. On top of parking price, the price for tickets, even after discounts, are insane. Add inflation on top if that. It's unaffordable. It's no wonder they're going downhill.
I never pay for parking but I live 15 mins away from a six flags and get the season pass for for $50-60 a piece every year when it goes on sale. I don't have to buy anything so many times I only spend like $10 for free refill bottle you bring back every time. It can be very affordable if you do it right.
@@RecklessTheory Not everyone lives 15 min away from a theme park :/ so technically it can be very expensive especially if you want to stay for more than one day and have to book a hotel/motel :( I haven't been to six flags in years and always wanted to go back but am unable to and it's sad seeing this decline at six flags sigh kinda depressing I wish I lived near a theme park
@@RecklessTheory not all of us live 15 mins from a park tho :( as for my bf and I, we live about an hour to an hour 30 from SFMM and so, the money we spend on gas and the time spent just driving there makes it unaffordable
That’s simply you getting older
@@forlornhauntedghostget a better high paying job ?
As a long time resident of the San Antonio area, I used to love Fiesta Texas as a kid. It was never Cedar Point (which I frequented as a child, living in SE Michigan) but it was fun, relatively clean, and had decent rides. My girlfriend and I spent a day there a few years ago, and it was pretty much exactly the same as it was when I was a kid. And that’s not a good thing. Everything was older, more worn looking, and they hadn’t added very much since then. Maybe 1 or 2 rides that were shut down on our visit. The few rides that were actually open were the same rides that have been at the park for decades. It doesn’t look like they’ve put any money into the park in 20+ years. Attendance was way down when we went, likely because it doesn’t offer anything different than it ever has. It’s sad, but that’s I guess how the parks are gonna be.
Yeah. I’m a genxer in west texas. Last time I went was around 95. Now have four kids. Took the 8 and 6 year old this year around may. It looked the SAME!!🤣 It was kind of comforting for me at first seeing ‘looney toons’ drawings. Felt like a time warp. Then I noticed the dilapidated, worn atmosphere, and the general cliental socio economic status and it hit me this wasnt just due to the pandemic.
19:24 The Diamond Pass is only really valuable if you're travelling around the country and visiting ALL the SF parks on a regular basis. The jump for 90 to 250 only seems relevant to rollercoaster enthusiasts that spend their summer riding rollercoasters across the country.
As someone that used to live in Gurnee near that park, I think the sneaky "Platinum Pass" upgrade being the best way to get access to Hurricane Harbor would irritate me. I bought a season pass about 10 years ago for my whole family (as I recall, I got 5 of them for about $300 or so at the time) and that INCLUDED Hurricane Harbor.
They need to get this stuff ironed out. I'd hate to see SF go under and Great America get shut down or sold off to another outfit.
I only have two memories of six flags. One is absolutely loving it, and one is me almost dying. I went on that big huge ride that swings back and forth with my brother, and you go upside down at both ends right? So my brother did my buckle for me and it was very secure and I felt safe, but then the man in charge of the ride came over to make sure everyone was locked in safely. He pulled on my buckle and basically pulled it loose, but was somehow satisfied it was secure and then moved on. Once we got to the top of the ride and we went upside down, I literally slipped and almost fell out of the seat to the ground, but my brother caught me and never took his hand off me the rest of the time. It was scary when it happened but I was little and didn't really realise the danger I was in, but now I understand
And then everyone clapped 👏
Bravo! What a hero. Such an inspiration to us all. 🇺🇸
@@No_More_Naggers why
@@No_More_Naggers Comment: "I almost died."
Response: "Bravo! What a hero."
Lol, what?? Bro, are you good? Do you need a mental hospital? Are you mentally challenged? You need therapy? Trying to get attention? Want mommy's love? Want daddy's approval?
@@No_More_Naggers People out here thinking shit like this doesnt happen in theme parks when shit like action park exist
@@andrewblissett2211 You Seem Upset Is There Some Kind Of A Probelem? WOOOOOOOO!
It's evident this CEO never played Roller Coaster Tycoon as a child 😂
@Maddox2021 - Comedy and More Alternate It was an obvious joke, but just so you know demoing steel does give you money rather than just costing money. Scrappers pay bank for metal.
IRK? I commented something similar.
Cheers!
I believe I have the experience after playing countless hours of RCT 🤣
I loved six flags as a kid! My dad would always take my sister and I whenever we visited my Grandma in the summer. It’s tragic to know the parks are in trouble.
One of the first things I noticed was parking has increased by $10-$25 depending on the parking. Basic parking at magic mountain is now $45. Luckily I have a season pass, so parking is included, but still, people for a day is getting gouged
That’s basically why I bought a season pass I didn’t wanna pay the parking fee 😂
We were kinda pissed that it was 45$. Not worth at all. They could easily make that and more if they provided decent food and attractions.
We went to mm and paid for like front gate parking or whatever and it’s literally with everyone else 😭😭 makes no sense
I was extremely surprised too, last year I subscribed to get free parking instead of paying 20, now my dad bought me another season pass so he doesn't spend 40 on parking :0
Yes I was really disappointed to hear that they were no longer having Holiday in the Park at our local Six Flags. :(
I think they are still doing here in texas😊
I live about a half hour away from a six flags. This video made me realize all their radio advertisements ceased to exist this year. That's EXTREMELY weird where I live. I've heard them for decades
The things that ticked me off about Six Flags is 1) In 2022 the Season Passes no longer let you go to any park and you had to pick only one. Luckily there was a Black Friday sale that gave you an upgrade to go to all parks. That wasn't available again in 2023, 2) The price of the Dining Plan went from $109 to $149 and dropped the Snack and dropped the free drinks. I still got a Season Pass, but we won't be going but a couple of times next year.
Will a couple of times even save you money? I've been to Universal/Islands a couple of times and Disney once. All when I was 40+. I didn't pay any time. My buddy worked for Universal. I won't go back to Disney. It's def. for children. Not to mention, the political BS.
I know people do need food but you would vomit all of it up anyways in six flags
I am a local to the Six Flags Great America. As a child, I remember we wouldn't need a season pass, and our trip would still be affordable. I remember going to shows in the theatres whenever they would have those. I remember just how alive it felt and Southwest Territory would actually have shows and animal events and what not. I then worked there for my first job. I worked there once more out of desperation before cutting the employee ties with them. As for being a guest as a young adult however, the decline has been so drastic. Areas of the park had become just empty. Usually, amusement parks try to remain immersive, trying to blur the lines of the outside world, but with six flags...you can just tell you are there to ride the rides and THAT.IS.IT. I would go on my days off of work and would ride a few rides. The souvenir cups were worth the price. The meal plans were also worth the price as well especially being a local and having the season pass, but if you didnt have that all set up, it was gunna be PRICEY and not all of the portions are created equal. Some places youd get the bang for your buck while others would leave you wanting more.
Overall, being a local and having gone during its hayday, it has reaall come down hill and when they removed the dining plans, it really was a nail in their coffin. That was a big draw for season pass holders, now it just doesnt feel worth it...(dont get me started on the flash pass vs the gold, silver, etc tiers for season passes)
Sheesh so long😮
^ Imagine having to read
I used to go to Great America about 10 times a year, driving a couple hours from NW Indiana for years. I used to love just aimlessly wandering around the park and seeing where my day would take me with my best friend, then enter Fright Fest 2013. I realized that year at Fright Fest that it felt more lackluster than the year prior, wait times were unbelievably large, you'd only get to ride maybe 3 rides; so my friend and I would just ride the rave cups over and over cause it was fun and a short line lol But prices skyrocketing, lackluster service, and not having a flash pass platinum essentially killed the experience.
I remember when it was Mariotts Great America.
See See soon
Every single time I go to Dallas/Arlington's 6 Flags I get prompted to take a survey. Half the restaurants during October had been converted to October fest which pushed guests into the few restaurants that weren't converted, increasing the time you stood in line to order food to almost an hour, not to mention the fact that to get refills on drinks you had to get BACK in line and wait another hour. All of the refill stations were closed. Attendance was through the roof, it took nearly two hours to get on Runaway Mountain! And the "scare zones" weren't even manned for Fright Fest half the time. I don't see how attendance was so low when everytime I go I end up riding one or two rides and leave. But I definitely let them have it with both barrels on the survey. Especially that asshole ceo.
Its just insane to me how this plan went. Charge a premium price for a non-premium experience, with no change whatsoever from the original experience, while also getting less variety due to some of the attractions being closed. On top of all that having the park work with way less budget like if it was gonna help
Like I understand Six Flag’s CEO and wanting to reduce wait times. I myself have constantly complained about multiple hour waits or even 45 minute waits on every ride. With that being said, the problem is, I’M ALWAYS ALREADY INSIDE THE PARK WHEN I’M COMPLAINING. Like not once did I ever want to go to an amusement park and decide not to because of long lines. Usually weather, felling sick, unforeseen events, lack of money are why I wouldn’t be able to go. If a person or family wants to go to an amusement park, unless it’s one of those options above, they’re gonna go regardless. The whole line problem is faced when the tickets are purchased and they’re already inside the park. At that point as a business you won, you got the customer inside your park and with long lines they’ll probably want to look at stores in hopes of the time reducing in like an hour. Nowadays, I expect all rides to take like at least 20 minutes to get on (Besides opening, closing, or events like parades happening) and I feel many of us have come to accept it. Maybe one visit you’re lucky and find your favorite ride with a 10 minute wait but no one expects that same wait each time they go. The long wait in line is just tradition at this point so to try to have that as a selling point isn’t believable because the CEO doesn’t control how many people decide to come into the park on a day. If multiple people see quick wait times, they’ll come more possibly and more people will come until either the CEO ups the price even more, alienating whatever minimal customers are left or the same cycle of multiple hour long lines occur and that turns people away along with the expensive ticket price. Overall, just a stupid idea from a stubborn idiot who is just further proof that people with money aren’t always the brightest.
The last time I was at a park, the lack of maintenance SCARED me. We left early, and only road 1ride. I was given the tickets, but if I had paid, I would have demanded a refund.
Also, a park that's a ghost town is more of a RED FLAG than a sign that "oooh short lines" no, it's more - why is everyone staying away? What do they know that I don't?
Exactly! My friend went on the Thunder Rapids water ride and there weren’t enough people to go in the raft and when it went into the black and white little vortex part, the raft was literally catching air and about to go off the ride. Craziness.
100% agreed
I was there last week. The restrooms are filty and they charge too much for their fast pass.. everything going down hill.😢
I think you really hit the nail on the head here. In the two years Spanos took charge, he was actually doing some good things and then poof!
Salim comes in and manages to undo not only the two years Spanos took charge, but somehow managed to make Jim Reid Anderson look better in comparison.
I don’t entirely blame him, but the board of directors that thought “Let’s take what isn’t broken and try to fix it”
Yes, Six Flags has some cracks showing, but this year compared to the last decade took the cake. I myself have been a big supporter of Six Flags in the past, but until they get their act together, I’m taking my money elsewhere.
He needs to take a page out of Jeffery Siebert’s book. That man has transformed Fiesta Texas. The park is so pretty again. Food is good, customer service is better and new rides/experiences. Arlington (Over Texas) is just pathetic right now. So sad!! I have such great memories.
No matter what you do, you can't reposition a bargain option as premium by simply by restructuring tiers. It's a damn mess and the parks are rightly suffering for leadership's bad decisions. And the only reason per-guest spending is up, is because concession and souvenir prices are also up.
Personally, I’d love to see a park come in like Efteling. The park is kept up and GORGEOUS. And yeah, it doesn’t have as many intense thrill rides as Six Flags parks, it still manages to bring in a LOT of attendees.
There were so many people shrooming when I went we all ended up hanging out together. There were nine of us 3-4-2. And none of the groups knew each other but we met in line for Dream Flight. That place is perfect for adults on mild hallucinogens.
I worked at six flags for a few years pre pandemic as my first job, and kept going back because I genuinely had a good time (games department let's go!). I worked for one summer post pandemic and it was enough to kill all love I had for the job. No one came back, no effort was put into training the new hires, we had new management who pushed for selling and constantly understaffed us. 3 people would run 5 games between them, even on busy days. Guests would be super entitled, and the ones who weren't were still being told the wrong things by employees who were thrown in the deep end. I wasn't even a manager, but by sheer virtue of having worked for more than 2 years I ended up showing new employees the ropes and being the one they went to when a customer was awful. I'm sad to see the old magic of the parks go, but in their current state I don't feel that bad about it
As a Georgia native and someone who loved six flags as a kid and my first roller coaster ride I ever took was at six flags over Georgia this is sad to see.
So, I grew up in a town with Six Flags Magic Mountain as its biggest draw to it. So I have seen that particular park over the decades. What has caused me to not want to return IS mostly the price point. But its also because of their change in attitude. When I was a child, Batman the Ride was released. They remade an ENTIRE SECTION of the park into Gotham. It was REALLY cool, and waiting in line had a STORY. And while now, Gotham is "Still there" Its a faint shadow of its original self. They also abandoned the idea of telling a story, or having entertainment, throughout the line. This makes standing in line 2-5 hours of sheer BOREDOM (2008 was the last time I was there). I get they arent a Theme Park. But I think that having Themed areas around a ride or 2, would raise enjoyment QUITE a bit. Other Rides they did this for, BTW, were Superman and Psyclone, both also extremely popular. Just something I would recommend to them...
Hey me too lol
@@kic7009 SCV aint what it used to be.
It was a Warner Brothers/Loony Toons theme park. That's why they had Superman, and Batman. I've never heard of this Cedar place... What IPs do their rides have? Six Flags over GA was great. I don't remember if there was a story. But there is with the Monster Mansion. Was the Monster Plantation, when I was a kid. Seems like American entertainment and parks peaked between 1985-2009. I wonder if smart phones have had an impact on them. The years are oddly suspicious.
@@macturner2196 originally Magic had nothing to do with WB. They had Trolls as characters. And many people ive talked to say that the park was best then, in the 60 and 70s. Cedar parks, i dont think they have any IPs. But their rides are pretty awesome. And i dont think it was smartphones. Americans havent enjoyed the amount of free spending money since the mid to late 2000s ahat they enjoyed through the 80s and 90s.
Fellow SCV! my last visit wasn't bad because i hate crowds, but it still felt like a death knell years ago, i was surprised it's still operating at all tbh
I went to six flags mm a few years back for a paid company trip, and let me tell you, it was the WORST theme park experience I've ever had. We went on a day that was scorching hot and packed. Took us nearly an hour to get inside the park and I almost passed out from the heat. Keep in mind I was not the only person to do so that day. Bathroom lines were horrendously long because of limited Bathroom stalls (one I went to had only two stalls. TWO) the price of everything was sky high including water which was about 5-6$ for a bottle. It really is all about the money. Six flags doesn't give a shit about their customer's experience.
We used to go to Six Flags St. Louis every year growing up as a day trip from Central IL. We were poor so it was a treat to splurge on for us kids. The prices lately would make it nearly impossible to afford to do that today for most families in a similar living situation to what we had in the 90s. The quality is way, way down from back then and it's hard to justify the cost for a worse experience. The whole reason anyone went was because it was extremely affordable compared to a trip to Disney and Universal for your average working family and the value for the money was actually pretty good. His plan sounds kind of insane to me. Trying to take the budget park to premium while souring the experience for everyone in the meantime by overcharging and under providing.
I agree ! There are alot of problems that need to be fixed with Six flags, instead of focussing on increasing the price so less people attend they should foccus on fixing the rides and having 2 carts per coaster so the lines go by faster. Even with less people the lines are just as long if not more long due to only running one coaster at a time, and thats even if the rides themselves work and arent closed... Fix the already existing rides before you add new rides ! Fix the lines situation hire more employees and run a successful buisness!
I concur 100% . Last visit to SF Magic Mountain, the park was full of mean muggers with the long shorts and high socks, jumping lines and daring you to say something. Dirty bathrooms and long waits. Oh, and the stabbing in the parking lot was the icing on the cake.
@patrickholland4708
Can NO ONE SAY ANYTHING with some idiot saying you were being racist?!?! So WHAT he said mean muggers? So WHAT? In your definition, all mean muggers are black people so therefore we can’t talk about them and point out that there are dangerous people at that park because they are probably black? So yeah, let’s just ignore very important facts because someone MIGHT BE BLACK?
@@SweetCandyDragonWith the long shorts and high socks, he was describing the ese's, not necessarily bloods & crips
This is SF Over Texas as well.
@@SweetCandyDragon He didn't mention skin color. You seem to think black people are thugs. Now who is the racist? 😉
I had similar experience at 6 Flags in Dallas a year ago, even my credit card info got stolen at the parking payment booth. I didn't risk going to the bathroom though, so giving them benefit of the doubt on that one.
I absolutely love six flags and this breaks my heart to hear. Like seriously, this sucks. A week ago we went to Six Flags over Texas a week ago and it was VERY empty. We loved the short ride wait times, but it made me worried because..well..nobody was really there. Sucks to see this happening.
I agree with you!
In Arlington?
That place is packed I just went on Saturday and it doesn’t look like it’s doing bad at all.
@@noel4ya same I went saturday and It was packed other than in the morning when the park was reserved
I definitely agree that of the things I feel like would make Six Flags more of a contender to other places is if they improved the overall atmosphere of the park. When you go to Disneyland you feel like you're almost in another world, but when you go to Six Flags you feel like you're in a parking lot. Literally, the Six Flags in my city has only a chain-link fence barrier between the rides and the actual parking lot. To contrast, Disney has huge facades using perspective to make it seem like the environment goes on forever, like with the mountains in Radiator Springs Racers in California Adventure. Even Six Flags' waterparks have a better atmosphere than their amusement parks. And I know their main big thing is "thrills" so they focus more on the roller coasters rather than the theme, but after a few visits the rides aren't that exciting anymore. Unless you're absolutely in love with going on big coasters you won't have many reasons to go back. And I know comparing it to Disneyland isn't that great cause Disney has Disney money, but if they keep it like it is they will continue to face difficulties. Maybe if they really honed in on the DC stuff, especially with the success of The Batman, they could get people excited again.
Also I totally agree with his points in the video about comparing them to Disney and I know I did that in this whole paragraph LOL but you can also say similar stuff about other parks like Knott's Berry Farm (which is run by Cedar Fair) who tries pretty hard to build an inviting atmosphere especially with the effort they put into Ghost Town and events like Ghost Town Alive, or also even Universal Studios Hollywood and their European streets or the Hogwarts castle in wide view, like imagine if in Six Flags there was a wide view of Bruce Wayne's Manor
The food thing is totally true too, all of these other parks have signature food items that people really love. Some examples: Universal has Harry Potter Butterbeer and The Simpson's Donut, Knott's Berry Farm has the Boysenberry, Disney has literally everything (mickey ice cream, mickey pretzels, beignets, dole whip, and more). The only thing I can think of at Six Flags that is significant enough is their funnel cakes. Six Flags is the amusement park of my city, so many people here have season passes, and they sometimes only go to Six Flags to get the funnel cake and leave, so the line always takes incredibly long. But the funnel cakes are not that great either and they aren't special to Six Flags, again maybe if they had DC inspired things like a Green Lantern signature drink or batarang cookies or something
You’re in SoCal, this doesn’t really apply to us. The parks are Tier 1 here, he’s not taking about the flagship parks, he’s taking about all of the other ones. In SoCal we’re super spoiled because of the location and attendance numbers. California is not a significant portion of this call I would assume. Tourism makes up for price increases.
@@dv6342 No I agree with you I definitely don’t think our Six Flags is going to die out anytime soon but I’m just saying if people ranked the parks around here Six Flags would likely be last, to me at least it’s not near being competitive to the other options. I think the only thing about it is that it has thrill rides which of course is Six Flags’ main thing so it’s good that it has that feature compared to the other parks.
Also I don’t mean to say that I would expect Six Flags to be competitive with a place like Disneyland either but at least in regards to it v.s. Knott’s or possibly just my main comment can still apply to the Six Flags’ in the other locations like with what you mentioned
They can make a Gotham city theme not the one they have it’s cheap and lame. Also Superman it take a while to get up that hill to get into the ride they can make a theme there that’s enjoyable I can go on and on. Also the funnel cake from Knotts are better hahaha. Universals and Disney are in another way different level then six flags and Knotts. I mean look at the la county fair and the Orange County fair there theme is a thousand time better then six flags. They need to be creative make a a type of city walk or Disney shopping centers. That’s what makes this two parks better there shopping and entertainment. I have gone to universals just to walk city walk and eat without entering the park or just to visit the movie theater. Same with Disney just to walk and shop and eat. At Knotts they have the medieval times that’s just around the corner they have restaurants near by and the angel stadiums that attracts people to the theme park. Know six flags they ain’t got nothing to attract people. They have a lot of land to making shopping centers better parking structures and etc. that’s what they need restaurants before entering the park with coffee shops sports bar then inside the park they can redo the entire park with entertainment have like a carnival theme world as well with a wheel of fortune have food like they have at a fair with good carnival games live entertainment so they can seek merchandise this is the key of the money maker for Disney and universal there merchandise exclusive for that said theme park
Even when I went to SF over texas as a kid, the park felt dirty, run down, and dated. And its been 10+ years since I've been, so I imagine it's much worse. I always enjoyed going there, so its sad to see it falling like this, but it's definitely not a surprise with how poorly its been maintained.
Beautification really does need to be their focus for a little while. I've never been to Disney, but what I know from all the things I've heard about their parks is the atmosphere, cleanliness, etc.
So much of the park looks old and faded from sitting in the sun and not being kept up. So many things made out of wood that are dried up and ugly looking, such as the fences that are everywhere, buildings, and even a few rides. Everything looks filthy and dry. Like look at 4:53 and how dull and old it looks... They really go for the rustic old western look in a lot of places, but it comes off as dull and dated instead of charming.
I feel like you neglect the fact that most average park goers don't really have many options when it comes to visiting theme parks, for instance Six Flags Over Texas and Six Flags Great America are hours away from any Cedar Fair park and they are really the only parks in their area (not all SF parks are like this but most are). Most people don't really have a choice in picking a theme park to visit, unless they live in Florida, California or some other place with a whole lot of big theme parks.
Right. My point is not that consumers are literally picking Cedar Fair over Six Flags. My point is that many people are more willing to spend that kind of money on a Cedar Fair park than a Six Flags park. People are choosing other entertainment experiences over Six Flags like concerts, sporting events and conventions, not necessarily other theme parks.
@@AttractionIdeas Yeah. Like the people with a Cedar Fair park in their local area are much more willing to go there, than a person with a six flags in their local area is willing to go to Six Flags.
Though tbh I don't think either are that great. Cedar Fair is improving, but the entire US market is basically a duopoly between the 2, and is largely centered on having just one or 2 huge mega parks in an entire region, rather than a bunch of mid sized parks, each with their own local audience, but still able to capture a regional audience from one another, like what we see in Europe.
I mean heck in my own country, 2 of our most succesful theme parks, Djurs Sommerland and Fårup Sommerland, both have 8 coasters now, and are reaching the size and coaster count of some American parks, but they're just a 2 hour drive from one another, and are both in popular holiday going areas. Plus they're both constantly trying to outdo one another, whether it be having the better coaster, the better waterpark, theming, food offerings, equipment for guests like picnic grills, events at the parks like shows and concerts, all that sort of stuff. Most would say these 2 parks are neck and neck, and whenever one park advances forward, the other is right behind and catching up fast!
Heck in my case I have 3 theme parks that are within an easy reach of my location including Tivoli Gardens, plus a smaller 4th one a bit further away, and even Liseberg which can be reached within 4 hours by train, even if I haven't been there in several years. Point is its so much easier to visit different parks here and so competition in general is stronger for the most part, and more of a focus is put on the customer experience as a result, rather than in the US where each operator basically has a regional monopoly.
I just go to kings island if I want rides because it's super close. It was better when it was "Paramount" kings island and the security could use an increase. Haven't been since that thug mob attack. Going to far away places for a theme park is for fancy people.
@Maddox2021 - Comedy and More Alternate at wich park because from my experience it’s the complete opposite and I’ve been to a lot of cedar fair parks
@Maddox2021 - Comedy and More Alternate half of those are because of error by the park guests like someone getting hit by a phone on twisted timbers is because a dumbass brang there phone on the ride